Meeting Royalty
by DatHeetJoella
Summary: When they were younger, Haruka and Makoto made a promise to each other. Now, thirty years later, their promise is one step closer to being fulfilled. In which Haruka and Makoto surprise their children with a visit to the shelter, where they meet two cats who might just become the new members of their little family. - MakoHaru Family Fic
1. The Surprise

A/N: This fic is a gift for my amazing friend, Kelly (heyfuturefeesh on twitter). Everything you contribute to the MakoHaru fandom is wonderful and I'm blessed by you every single day, not just your adorable content but also by your kindness and support. You always say that you love my MakoHaru family fics, so this one is dedicated to you. Thank you for everything and I hope you like it! :)

This fic is part of my MakoHaru family collection, but if you don't want to go back and read the previous two works in the series first, this fic can definitely be read as a stand-alone. There are some references to the previous work, "I'll Paint a Smile on Your Face", but I don't think they're an issue in terms of understanding this fic.

Writing this fic, though difficult at times, was a lot of fun and because I'm not a cat-owner myself, it allowed me to do the most adorable research yet. It was originally written as a one-shot, but since it got out of hand as per usual, I decided to split it up into three parts. The fic is entirely finished, so the other two parts should follow soon.

I hope you'll enjoy! ^^

* * *

"Sleep well, sweetie. I love you," Makoto murmured as he tucked Umiko in and kissed her goodnight.

"Love you too. Goodnight," she replied drowsily, clearly on the verge of losing consciousness yet fighting to stay awake just a tad longer so she could return her parents' wishes of sweet dreams.

Meanwhile, Haruka whispered similar words to Mizuki and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead. The poor boy was so exhausted from playing around on the beach all day that he had fallen asleep halfway through Makoto's anecdote-bedtime story. And he had been so excited about this particular story too; when he and his sister heard that their parents had starred in a short film back in high school to help recruit new members for the swim team, their eyes lit up with curiosity and they were all ears. Haruka smiled to himself as he recalled how their adorable faces had twisted in disbelief when it was revealed that their kind, sweet father had been assigned the part of the evil king. Admittedly, it hadn't exactly been a fitting role, as Makoto had proven with his acting skills - or lack thereof. The end result was cute, though. Haruka made a mental note to ask Nagisa later if he still had a copy of all the footage saved somewhere.

They would fill Mizuki in on the details he missed during breakfast tomorrow, but for now, he could conjure up his own fairytales in his dreams.

Once Makoto and Haruka were done saying goodnight to both of their children, they left the room to let them sleep. The small star-shaped light that illuminated the darkness was kept on just in case Mizuki woke up at some point during the night; while Umiko claimed that she was a big girl who wasn't afraid of the dark and therefore no longer needed the nightlight, Haruka was pretty sure that she hid her own fear behind Mizuki's and very much appreciated the glowing star. He would never call her out on this, but it was amusing and quite endearing nonetheless.

"Do you want tea or coffee?" Haruka wondered as they walked down the stairs together.

"Coffee," Makoto said, "but wait."

"On what?" Haruka questioned sceptically, following his husband into the living room but doing so with confusion. There wasn't much time left before the tv show that Makoto had been looking forward to watching would start, and he wanted them to be on the couch with a hot beverage before then.

When Makoto made sure the door was closed behind them to prevent their children from possibly overhearing - which seemed highly unlikely considering the sleepy states they had been in - a wide grin stretched his handsome face. "The shelter got back to us."

"Already?" Haruka asked, eyebrows raising in surprise, "That's fast."

While they were painting yesterday afternoon, Umiko had casually opened up the topic of adopting a dog for discussion. Her brother had supported the idea wholeheartedly, but dogs needed a lot of specific care and attention that they unfortunately wouldn't be able to give at this point in time. As a compromise, Haruka had offered that they could maybe get a cat instead. Makoto and he had already wanted a cat for as long as he could remember, and they had promised each other when they were kids that they would get one together when they were older.

Alas, after thirty years, that promise hadn't been fulfilled yet because it never seemed like the right time to get a pet; either they were too busy with school and training, or their careers caused them to be away from home too often, or every waking moment was dedicated to taking care of their adorable but needy infants.

But that was all in the past now; the children were a little older and didn't need round the clock care anymore, work at the swim club was calm and stable and they had a neat, orderly schedule. Their lives had reached a comfortable and steady point so he concluded that the time to expand their family with a cat had finally come.

As soon as Makoto heard about the conversation that was held when he was still at work, he scoured the internet in secrecy in search for a feline friend or two. Somewhere along the way, he stumbled upon a pair, seven-year-old Princess and five-year-old Duchess, who had been left in the shelter's care after their previous owner passed away. The instant Makoto saw the white cat and her orange tabby companion, he fell in love with their cute faces and thought that they were the perfect additions to their family.

After the children had gone to bed that evening, he showed them to his husband and fortunately for him, Haruka had immediately taken a liking to them as well. So they had written up an email explaining their situation and expressing their interest in meeting them, as the shelter required approval and a visitation before they allowed anyone to adopt a pet. Because of that, they decided to keep it a secret until the shelter gave them the green light. It would be bad if Umiko and Mizuki fell in love with them too but the shelter didn't think they were the right fit for Princess and Duchess.

"Yeah, I was surprised too," Makoto muttered as he fished his phone out of his pocket, "I already saw it before dinner but I didn't get the chance to tell you sooner. I was afraid the kids might hear something, and you know how inquisitive Umiko has been lately…"

Haruka understood where he was coming from; while they encouraged her curiosity and stimulated her zealousness, in situations like these they had to be careful. If she somehow got the idea that they had their sights set on two cats then they wouldn't hear the end of it until she saw them and they were hers. Of course, Mizuki would be dragged along with his older sister's interrogation and that wouldn't exactly make it easier. Precaution was key when it came to things like this.

"And, what did they say?"

An excited gleam appeared in Makoto's gorgeous eyes. "They said we can come to meet them anytime they're open."

A small yet nonetheless joyous smile appeared on Haruka's lips at that confirmation. They were approved on paper and were allowed to see them in person. The chances of the shelter denying their adoption request was significantly smaller now, given that they would like the cats and the cats liked them too - though he honestly didn't see why either wouldn't. "That's great."

"Right? I'm so happy," Makoto said, his entire face lighting up like a Christmas tree.

If it weren't the cats and their childhood promise being closer to being fulfilled that made Haruka smile, then seeing his husband so genuinely thrilled definitely would have done the trick. After so many years, that blinding smile still ignited sparks in his stomach. "Me too," he murmured softly, "So when do you want to go?"

"I was thinking Tuesday afternoon," Makoto replied without missing a beat, proving that he had already thought about that - not that Haruka had expected otherwise. "My classes end early on Tuesday, so that's when we have the most time to see them and play with them before the shelter closes."

"Sounds good," Haruka agreed, though he couldn't help but tease him a little, "If you can keep it a secret until then." They wanted it to be a surprise for the kids, but that wouldn't work if Makoto's unerasable grin revealed it all.

"I think I can manage _three days_," he argued, wanting to seem offended yet failing miserably when he smiled again.

"Are you sure, because your face says otherwise." Haruka jokingly poked at the curled up corner of Makoto's mouth, because that thoroughly elated expression held no secrets at all, not from Haruka and surely not from Umiko and Mizuki either.

Hearty laughter erupted from Makoto's chest as he swatted his husband's hand away. "I'm sure," he declared solemnly as he swiped his palm in front of his face and unveiled the serious look that was left in its wake. He was able to maintain that demeanour for about half a second before it crumbled with a chuckle. He bit his lip in an attempt to repress it, but it was in vain.

Haruka could only smile at his giddiness. In Makoto's defense, he had been able to not only keep Princess and Duchess a secret for the children for an entire day, but he had also successfully kept this information hidden for a few hours from none other than his own husband, who knew him through and through. He could do anything he set his mind to.

"Anyway," Makoto mumbled as he tried to recover from his giggles, fumbling with his phone for a bit and then he gave it to Haruka. "Here's the email if you want to read it."

Haruka quickly scanned the text with his eyes, his own smile softening when he read the confirmation for himself. But when he opened his mouth to reply, the tv in the background blared a familiar tune.

"It's started!" Makoto gasped and his eyes widened comically.

"Here," Haruka snorted as he handed him his phone, "You can email them back later. Go sit down, I'll get us our drinks."

"Are you sure?" Makoto asked, knowing that Haruka didn't like to watch something if he missed the beginning. When Haruka didn't waver, he muttered, "Thanks, Haru. You're the best!"

Before Haruka had the chance to stutter an objection to that, Makoto blessed him with a quick kiss of gratitude. There was truly no better way to silence him than that.

"Ah, I'm so excited!" Makoto sighed, and it was obvious that he wasn't talking about the tv show.

As always, Haruka couldn't do anything but smile in response to his husband's almost childlike enthusiasm. He was really too cute. "Me too."

* * *

The sea of children that had poured through the seams of Iwatobi Elementary's doors had long since dissipated, yet Umiko was still nowhere in sight. When Haruka pulled out his phone to check the clock, he confirmed that she was indeed running late. It was no point of concern for him, because he knew just how easily she could get caught up in conversation and lose track of time, but the small hand that was clutching his was slowly growing more and more jittery with impatience.

While Umiko had the tendency to be a bit tardy if she got distracted, Mizuki was very punctual, always ready with his little backpack firmly around his shoulders by the time one of his parents came to pick him up from kindergarten. He despised waiting and therefore made sure no one would have to wait on him either. While Haruka thought both of their habits were endearing in their own way and didn't mind waiting on Umiko for a couple of minutes when they weren't in a hurry, Mizuki got visibly annoyed if his older sister was taking too long for his liking.

Haruka averted his gaze from where it had been glued to the doors, that his husband and he had passed through countless of times when they were just children themselves, in favour of looking at their grumpy son. Most people probably wouldn't notice anything off about him, since a bright smile wasn't exactly part of his default expression, but Haruka could tell that his bottom lip was protruding slightly more than it did when he got here. That pout would surely disappear instantly if Mizuki knew what was ahead of him today.

"She'll be here soon," Haruka tried to appease him, smiling when Mizuki only huffed in response. "Do you want me to carry you?"

"No."

He wasn't going to insist; Mizuki would change his mind if his legs got tired, but Haruka didn't think it would get to that point. Even though Umiko was taking her sweet time, he was sure it wouldn't be long now. It wasn't like she would make her family wait forever.

Almost like he had sensed it, at that moment a familiar mop of black hair left the building and, as predicted, Umiko wasn't alone: three other children were with her, some of which Haruka recognised from playdates at their house.

The instant Umiko spotted her dad and little brother standing near the gate, she quickly said goodbye to her friends and ran towards them, red bag jostling on her back. It seemed like her face had trouble deciding which emotion to display; remorse for being late or the excitement that was the cause of it.

"Why are you late?" Mizuki demanded to know the second Umiko was within earshot, sounding like he was her dad instead of Haruka and Umiko owed _him_ an explanation.

"Sorry," she apologised and though it was sincere, as soon as the word was past her lips, her enthusiasm won the battle and a wide, radiating grin appeared. "I was talking with Suzu-chan and Hiro-kun and Mari-chan. Suzu-chan got a guinea pig!"

"A guinea pig, huh?" Haruka muttered as he ruffled her hair in greeting before crouching down to kiss her head. Then his hand found one of hers so he could lead the three of them safely across the street to where the car was parked.

"Yeah! She got one, and her older sister got one too! She said guinea pigs need to have a friend."

"It's always nice to have a friend," Haruka agreed, but before he had the chance to say anything else about rodents, Umiko chimed in.

"Why are we taking the car?"

Usually, Makoto and he would drop off the kids at their respective destinations together before driving to the swim club in the morning. When school was finished, Haruka would pick them up again and the three of them would walk to their house, or wherever they happened to be going, so that Makoto could drive home after a long day of hard work.

"We're going to the swim club," Haruka replied, "I thought it would be nice to pick Papa up together. He still has one class, so we can watch him while he works."

It was technically the answer to what she had asked, but it wasn't the full truth either. Fortunately, it seemed like the kids hadn't noticed that.

"Can we swim too?" Mizuki wondered, although his way of moving through the water could hardly be called swimming just yet, as it was more like wading.

"Not today, I'm afraid," Haruka said, hoping that they wouldn't inquire further, "I thought you would still be tired of swimming after swimming all day last Saturday."

"I'll never get tired of swimming!" Umiko proclaimed.

"Me neither!"

Truly spoken like they were his own, Haruka thought to himself with a small snort. "Me neither," he echoed as he took his keyring out of his pocket and unlocked the car. Before they had the opportunity to ask him if he had already swum today - the answer to which was yes - he tried to change topics. "So, what colour is Suzu-chan's guinea pig?"

"White with brown spots, and her sister's guinea pig is black with brown spots!"

Successfully diverged.

While Umiko rambled on about every detail her friend had told her about the new pets, Haruka put Mizuki into his carseat and fastened the belts. Then he went to check if Umiko had strapped herself into hers properly, not wanting to take any chances when she was so busy chattering. Once they were both secured, Haruka buckled himself up and started the car to drive the route that had become more than familiar over the past decades.

After a short drive, they arrived at their family's business. Though the entire way here had been dyed with Umiko's high-pitched voice as she talked about anything and everything noteworthy about her day at school - though it was mostly still about Suzu-chan's guinea pig -, the second they came to a halt in the parking lot, she freed herself of her seatbelt and leapt out of the car to run inside.

"Wait for me!" Mizuki called after her, impatiently trying to unbuckle himself too but he couldn't quite figure out the somewhat complicated system.

Not wanting him to be left behind, Haruka helped him and lifted him out of the car so he could chase after his sister. He wasn't in a hurry like the kids were, so Haruka calmly grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder before he followed them inside.

They were far ahead of him, but Haruka wasn't bothered. The swim club was their second home and they knew this place like the back of their hands. Even the other staff members weren't fazed at all by their presence, as they had long since gotten used to the six-year-old and her four-year-old brother roaming around the halls. Knowing just where they were going, Haruka took a detour to the break room, the fridge of which contained some juice boxes reserved for occasions like these. Along with two of them and a bottle of water for himself, Haruka went to join the children.

Their faces were already smudged up against the glass, looking out over the pool area where a handful of instructors were having classes in different lanes, amongst whom their very own father. It didn't matter how often they were here to witness it, for some reason this remained to be a spectacular sight to see. Haruka got it though; Makoto did look really cool helping kids from all ages through the water - and really hot in his wetsuit, the design of which hadn't changed at all since he wore it for the very first time a little under twenty years ago.

"You'll stain the glass if you press up against it like this," Haruka remarked. Even though their enthusiasm was cute, it hadn't been long since he had last cleaned these windows and he wasn't eager to have to do it again tomorrow.

"Sorry," Umiko and Mizuki muttered in unison, immediately stepping away like the glass had burned their palms and noses.

Haruka smiled, bidding them a small nod of appreciation. "Here," he said as he handed them each a juicebox. Then he sat down on the bench right behind them and put his bag down beside him.

"Thanks!" they replied as they followed his example and plopped down.

After taking a swig of his water, Haruka rummaged through his bag a bit and pulled out a box of leftover vanilla muffins from last Sunday. They wouldn't be home until it was time for dinner, so he made sure to bring their afterschool snack with them. It would be bad if Umiko and Mizuki got hungry and cranky on a day as important as this one.

The same response sounded out again as the children grabbed a proffered muffin, nibbling mindlessly as they peered out over the pool. It was an occurrence as common as the next, but when Haruka looked at them, he was reminded of Ran and Ren, who he had taken here back when Makoto was first working as a swim instructor to help out Coach Sasabe. The twins had been a couple of years older then than Umiko and Mizuki were now, but the glint of excitement shimmering in their eyes was the exact same.

Suddenly, his hands began to itch with the need to capture this sight; the unawareness of the world around them as they were fixated on their father guiding other children through the water, with nothing to distract from it than the combined flavours of sweet vanilla muffins and apple juice. But a good dad always came prepared, and Haruka searched for his camera in his bag, trying not to rustle it too much in fear of disturbing the atmosphere.

He carefully scooted over to the edge of the bench and held the camera at an angle so that their vague reflections in the windows were within frame too. As soon as the shutter clicked, the spell was broken and their faces instantly turned to him. The excited glimmer was replaced by adorable confusion, their eyebrows twisting into a frown to complete the look.

Knowing they were just startled, Haruka said, "Smile," as he snapped another photo. He had already gotten the perfect, almost entranced-like picture, so a couple of goofy ones were a nice follow up to that.

A dozen or so photos were shot, some of which the children demanded be taken in front of the windows in the hopes of catching their father in action. The results weren't that great, but it was a task that was pretty much impossible to execute well, so Haruka simply obliged without protest. They'd forget about it sooner or later anyway.

Eventually the kids were reminded of their treats left abandoned on the bench and returned to them. Haruka put the camera away. He could continue to take pictures forever, but he didn't want the memory card to get too cluttered just yet. There were certainly more endearing moments coming up, ones that were rarer than these, and it would be a shame to miss out on eternalising them.

Time flew by as Umiko and Mizuki finished their snacks and babbled with their dad. Before they knew it, Makoto and his students were already standing on land again as today's class was ended. The children trickled out of the room and Makoto was left to clear away the kickboards and floaties that were used.

"Come on," Haruka said as he got up, collecting the empty snack packages to discard into a bin along the way, "Let's go to Papa."

The kids didn't need to be told twice.

They quickly traded their shoes for slippers and entered through the staff locker room, where Haruka grabbed the laid-out towel to hand to his husband. Unlike before, Umiko and Mizuki now slowly followed behind him, knowing that they weren't allowed to run anywhere near the pool because it was dangerous.

"Good work," Haruka murmured as he stepped into the room.

Upon hearing that voice, Makoto came to a halt and a bright smile stretched his face when he saw him. "Haru!"

A matching smile naturally broke through Haruka's demeanour and he threw the towel to Makoto, who caught it as effortlessly as always.

"Papa!"

"We came to pick you up!"

The chiming voices of their children drew Makoto's gaze downwards and his smile widened. "Is that so?" he chuckled, roughly drying his brown locks with the towel before letting it slip to his shoulders. "Thank you, I really appreciate it!"

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Haruka offered. He convinced himself that he asked it to help his husband out, but he couldn't deny the excitement that bubbled up in his stomach as he thought about where they were heading next.

"No, that's okay," Makoto declined with the cute head tilt that he never grew out of, "I just need to put away some stuff and get dressed and then I'm ready to go."

But instead of doing either of those things, he stepped closer to them and swiftly stole a kiss from his husband's lips. Before Haruka could ever register the contact, let alone respond, Makoto had already pulled back again with a cheeky grin on those enticing lips. The flame of playfulness that was ignited in his eyes went out as quickly as it was lit and swooped down to kiss Umiko and Mizuki's crowns before he turned around and strolled off.

"See you soon," he called over his shoulder with a wave of his hand, and Haruka couldn't help but snort.

He really loved that adorable idiot with all his heart.

* * *

Less than fifteen minutes later, the Tachibana family was seated in the car and conversation was alive as per usual, mainly thanks to Makoto and Umiko; the latter was telling the former all about her friend's newly acquired guinea pig. Because Haruka and Mizuki had already heard everything there was to know about it, they didn't feel the need to partake in the same discussion again. Since Makoto would always humour her and, like Haruka himself, was genuinely interested in everything she and her brother had to say, this was no issue at all.

On the contrary, Haruka was actually kind of glad he didn't have to engage so he could focus all his attention on driving. Though he was pretty certain he knew the exact road they needed to take to their destination, it had been quite a while since the last time he was there so he wanted to make sure that he didn't accidentally take a wrong turn.

The children hadn't noticed anything yet, and Haruka was glad about that. It meant that the surprise would only be greater when they arrived.

"And Suzu-chan's dad made a big cage, and also a big… thing so they could run outside in the yard!"

"Guinea pigs can get pretty big, huh?" Makoto commented, amused by their daughter's enthusiasm, "So it's good that they have a lot of space to move around and play."

"Yeah," Umiko affirmed, vigorously nodding her head, "Her and her sister's are still small because they're babies, but she said they can get _this_ big." She made an indication with her hands, that might have been a teeny bit exaggerated, but Makoto only chuckled along.

"Really?"

"Yeah!" she repeated excitedly, "And she said that I can come over to see them sometime!"

"That's nice of her," Makoto said with his sunny smile, "When did you plan to do that?"

"I don't know yet. Hiro-kun and Mari-chan also wanted to see them, but Suzu-chan says she can only have one friend at a time over at her house."

"Why is that?" Haruka questioned with a frown at this new piece of information.

"I don't know," Umiko shrugged, "She said her mom said so."

"Maybe it'll be too busy for the guinea pigs otherwise. They might feel scared if they're surrounded by a lot of people, trying to hold them all at once," Makoto tried, but Umiko shook her head.

"I don't think it's because of the guinea pigs. Before she had them we could never play at her house together either."

"Maybe her mom's the one who gets scared if she's surrounded by a lot of people," Haruka joked, coaxing chuckles out of everyone. While Haruka knew better than anyone else that children could be a handful, he didn't really understand parents who had rules like that. Those types of playdates occurred every once in a while and lasted for no more than a few hours at a time at best, so it wasn't like there was much of a difference between having one kid over or two or three - at least, not to him. It only caused for some children to get excluded from playing with their group of friends.

And because he never wanted Umiko and Mizuki to get excluded, he wouldn't cause for other kids to get excluded either. The more the merrier, or something corny like that.

"Oh, and I told Suzu-chan and Hiro-kun and Mari-chan that we're going to get a cat, and they asked if they could see it when we get it!"

Makoto's eyes darted to the corner to shoot his husband an inquiring look, but Haruka just pursed his lips as a subtle sign that he didn't know either. It must have been a coincidence, for Umiko would surely speak up if she caught wind of what was going on.

"Of course!" Makoto replied, trying his best not to let his expression betray him and expose their secret, "You can invite them over when we get one."

"Or two," Mizuki added, so out of nowhere that it almost seemed like he was onto something. The look of indifference on his face, however, contradicted this.

"Can they all come over at the same time?" Umiko asked, diverting the subject from the cats they were going to get back to her friends, much to her parents' joy.

"Sure, I don't see why not," Haruka said. In his opinion, it was easier to have all three of Umiko's closest friends come over at once than to plan three separate cat-viewing playdates. "You can invite Tomo-kun over too," he told Mizuki, knowing that Mizuki only had one friend he was close enough with for him to invite into their house. He had been told multiple times that he was allowed to bring more friends than just Tomo-kun, but Mizuki always declined and said that he just wanted his best friend to come. It seemed like the other children in his kindergarten class hadn't unlocked the stage of friendship yet in which Mizuki felt comfortable having them over.

But even his best friend was not on Mizuki's mind right then. "Where are we going?" he questioned in confusion. The car ride home wasn't supposed to take this long, and he didn't recognise the buildings around him either.

"Are we going to the store?" Umiko wondered, since taking the car and picking up her father made sense in that scenario.

Makoto just shook his head.

"Then where?"

"It's a surprise."

"Oh no," she gasped in horror, "we're not going to the dentist, are we?"

"No," Makoto chuckled at the fact that that was her first guess for some reason, "we just went to the check-up appointment a few weeks ago, and your teeth don't hurt, right?"

"No," Umiko said, and even if she could have expected that outcome, she was still visibly relieved.

"I promise that you'll both like where we are going," he revealed, and that would be the sole hint he would give them.

Then it was Mizuki's turn to gasp. "Disneyland?"

That was probably the only place that would make them even happier, but he couldn't have been more wrong. If that was their expectation, then they were surely going to be disappointed; any place paled in comparison to Disneyland.

Thankfully, Umiko was the voice of reason. "Of course we're not going to Disneyland!" she argued, "Disneyland is super far away and we have to go to school tomorrow, and Papa and Daddy have to work."

"Oh yeah," Mizuki mumbled dejectedly, pouting as he averted his head to stare out the window. Haruka hoped that his frown would soon be turned upside down when he found out where they were actually going.

"No, unfortunately we're not going to Disneyland," Makoto regretfully confirmed, "but the place where we _are_ going is a lot of fun too."

"The playground?" Mizuki tried, as it was technically a smaller, plainer version of Disneyland.

"Oh, I know!" Umiko suddenly exclaimed, the metaphorical light bulb switching on beside her head as she had an epiphany, finally able to connect all the dots. "We're going to get a cat!"

"Ding-ding-ding, we have a winner," Makoto announced like a game show host, making the children cheer like they just won a hundred million yen. "We're going to the shelter!"

Instantly, Mizuki's pout morphed into a large grin. "Yes!"

"Are we going to pick out a cat?" Umiko asked, her brown eyes wide and gleaming with excitement.

"No, we're going to meet two cats that Daddy and I picked out already."

Before the kids had the chance to moan and complain about not being allowed to help pick out the cats, Haruka cut in, "Papa found these cats on the website and thought they were perfect for us, so he showed them to me. And I thought so too, so we sent a message to the shelter, because before we are allowed to adopt them, we have to meet them in person. They said we could come today, so we wanted it to be a surprise for you until now."

Fortunately, that explanation satisfied them, and they began to rapidly fire questions at their parents about the cats' identities.

"Are they boys or girls?"

"What do they look like?"

"What are their names?"

Their passion was so endearing that Makoto couldn't do anything but laugh merrily, and Haruka's heart swelled with fondness upon consuming the cocktail of rambled curiosity and bellowing joy.

"Okay, okay," Makoto hushed with remnants of giggles, "Their names are Princess and Duchess, and they're both girls. Princess is white and Duchess is orange. That's what you both wanted, right?"

"Yes!" they yelled in unison, excitement dripping from their faces as they visualised their ideal cat in their heads.

"But Papa," Umiko mumbled as she recalled the conversation they had about their desired cats last Friday afternoon, "I thought you wanted a black cat."

If Makoto was going to say what Haruka expected him to, he was going to kick him as soon as the car came to a halt. But it seemed like Makoto had left his playfulness behind at the swim club and he answered earnestly, "It doesn't really matter to me, I'm happy with any cat."

Umiko smiled at that - if anything, she was probably just glad that at least one of the cats had fur in her desired colour. "How old are they?"

"Princess is seven and Duchess is five."

"That's older than me!" Mizuki gasped in surprise, like he had never even considered the possibility of that.

"That's right, and Princess is even older than Umiko," Makoto said, and their son's mind was positively blown by that fact.

"Wow."

"We're almost there," Haruka informed, disrupting their elated chattering. He hated to be the spoilsport, but the children were getting a little too excited about the idea of having Princess and Duchess as their cats and he had to remind them that they weren't theirs just yet. "Remember that we're going to meet them to see if we like them, but if we don't for some reason or if they don't like us, then we'll continue to look for a different cat."

"But," Makoto added before their grins could be wiped away by their dad's words to make place for crestfallen frowns, "I think we're going to like them a lot."

To support this claim, Makoto elaborated and shared all the details he knew about the royalty they were about to meet. It was safe to say that Umiko and Mizuki had already fallen in love with the descriptions they were given, just like their parents had. Now they probably wouldn't settle for anything less than Princess and Duchess - and fortunately, they didn't have to either.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!**

**You can find me on Tumblr, Twitter and Curious Cat as DatHeetJoella for more MakoHaru content in-between fic updates.**

**Thanks again for reading, I hope to see you again at the next part of this fic, but for now, I wish you a lovely day! 3**


	2. Princess & Duchess

**A/N: Hello again! I hope you're all having a lovely day and I hope everyone will enjoy this chapter, especially you, Kelly! ^^**

* * *

When they arrived at the shelter, the children were practically buzzing with fervor and impatience to finally see the cats they had already heard so much about.

Inside, there was no one seated at the front desk so Makoto pressed the little bell that was perched up on the counter to announce their presence. Within an instant, a woman who seemed to be around their age appeared in the doorway with a welcoming smile painted on her red lips.

"Hello," Makoto greeted with his own default smile, "We have an appointment to meet two of your cats, Princess and Duchess. We are-"

"Coach Tachibana!"

Clearly Makoto's reputation preceded him; he didn't even need to introduce himself.

Makoto looked puzzled for a split second, the cogs in his brain spinning as he tried to recall who this lady was. "Ah, you're Ayumi-chan's mom, right?"

"That's right," Ayumi-chan's mother replied, "I'm Tanaka Futaba."

"Haru, I've told you about Ayumi-chan before, haven't I?" Makoto said, directing his attention back to his husband. "She specialises in butterfly, and she has a really powerful dolphin kick!"

Haruka did remember him talking about her before, but he talked about pretty much all of his students so it was hard to keep track. He always listened attentively no matter what Makoto was gushing about, though, and it was adorable how excited he got about the progress of each kid time and time again. He really loved his job.

"Yes," Tanaka-san concurred, "she has learned so much since she's in your class. At first she was scared to even put her face underwater and look at her now! She isn't scared anymore and she always looks forward to the swimming classes, and it's all thanks to you, Coach Tachibana, so we're really glad that you are her coach. I don't think she could have done it without you."

"Oh, that's very nice of you," Makoto said, rubbing the back of his neck abashedly, "I'm glad that you feel that way, but it's really because of her hard work that she isn't scared anymore. I'm sure that she would have been able to do it regardless of who her coach is, because all of my colleagues are more than capable-"

"Of course, I didn't mean to imply that they aren't!" Tanaka-san quickly assured, raising her palms in front of her chest. "But, well, truth is that you're known to be the best coach around, and not just because you have trained Olympic champions. I'm sure that everyone hopes their child will be coached by you…"

"I- Well- Thank you, but-"

"Can we see the cats now?" Haruka cut off his husband's stammering. He told himself it was to save Makoto from this awkward stream of compliments that, though they were true, were definitely making him uncomfortable. But it also might or might not have been because he knew there was a certain group of single moms at the swim club who had their sights set on Makoto, who tried to impress him and catch his attention at any given opportunity, and he wasn't sure if Tanaka-san was one of them or not. She was emitting a certain vibe that he wasn't particularly fond of.

"Ah, of course, Nanase-san." Apparently, his reputation preceded him too.

"Tachibana," Haruka corrected.

The unconcealed bitterness in his bite startled the lady, her mouth hanging agape as she stared at him in perplexity.

He hadn't intended to sound so harsh, but he didn't regret it. While he knew it couldn't be helped that most people still knew him as Nanase Haruka and he therefore didn't mind it usually, there was just something inside of him that had wanted to make a statement this time.

"Please excuse me, Tachibana-san," she recovered as she put up her smile again, but there was obviously less shine in it now. "Come right with me."

Tanaka-san led them into the corridor she had just come through and Umiko and Mizuki followed right behind her. Makoto and Haruka trailed behind a bit more composedly.

A soft but purposeful brush of a hand against his made Haruka look up to meet his husband's gaze. Makoto shot him a knowing and assuring look, the corners of his lips curling up ever so slightly in a gentle smile. It said more than spoken words could, and his love was conveyed through those gorgeous eyes of his, slipping into Haruka's heart to banish the slivers of unease that had settled there.

Even after almost two decades of being together and nine years of marriage, Haruka still hadn't been able to shake his jealous and protective tendencies and he probably never would either. It was hard, having such an all-around perfect and desirable spouse, but it was more than worth it. Makoto would always be there to put him at ease.

They were brought into a moderately-sized room with large windows making up one of the walls, so the inside of it was visible from the hallway. Cat trees and towers filled up the space, impressive bridges and structures hanging from the ceiling and walls to connect them to one another. Water dispensers, litter boxes and scratching posts stood in every corner and numerous comfy beds and pillows were present to ensure sweet dreams. And to top it off, all kinds of toys and a couple of cardboard boxes were strewn over the floor, making this an absolute kitty paradise.

The only missing factors were the feline friends themselves; they were probably put back in their cages for now so that their family could meet Princess and Duchess without the distraction and interference of other cats.

"This looks amazing!" Makoto marvelled as he let his eyes feast upon the impressive cat furniture. "It's like cat heaven in here."

"Thank you," Tanaka-san chuckled, hiding the sound in her fist. "We get most of the things either through donation or along with the cats that are brought in."

"That makes sense," Makoto nodded, somberly pursing his lips, "if people don't want the cat anymore then they probably don't need the furniture anymore either."

"Why would they not want the cat anymore?" Umiko asked, looking almost offended at the notion that someone who had a cat would give it up while she didn't even have one - yet.

"I don't know," Makoto replied earnestly, because the thought was unimaginable for him too, "I guess sometimes people just can't take care of it anymore, and they want it to have a better life with someone else. Or like with Princess and Duchess, the owner passes away and there's no one else who can take them." The idea of someone willingly giving up their cat, or any pet for that matter, was just too mind-boggling to comprehend.

"Yes," Tanaka-san concurred, "It's sad, but sometimes people just don't have any other choice." Then she resumed, "When a pet is adopted, all of their furniture is given to the new owner, of course. I believe Princess and Duchess had quite some stuff, so if you end up adopting them, then all of that will be yours too."

"Oh, that's okay," Makoto immediately brushed off, "If we do end up adopting them, you can keep their stuff here, we'll just get them new things."

"Nonsense! That stuff was theirs to begin with and it will stay theirs," she argued, "I don't know from the top of my head which exact items were theirs, but we keep track of it so I'll look it up later. Unless you don't _want_ it…"

"It's not that! It's just… we just really don't want to take away from this," Makoto said as he gestured around them. They probably had more funds to get new cat necessities than the shelter did.

"That's very nice of you, Coach Tachibana, but I insist. They will probably feel more at home in a new environment if they have their own things, so it might help them settle down in your house."

Before Makoto had the chance to reply to that, Mizuki whined, "Can we see the cats now?" He was really being tested today; his patience was already wearing thin earlier and this certainly wasn't helping his case.

"Of course," Tanaka-san chuckled - unlike the first time she was asked that question today. "Wait here, please, and I'll go get them."

"Great! Thank you," Makoto said with a sunny, slightly exaggerated smile. He must have felt like he had to compensate with kindness for the curt and brashness that both his husband and their son had displayed.

Whatever his motivation might have been, it seemed like Tanaka-san appreciated it as the corners of her lips went up in response. "I'll be right back."

Tanaka-san left the room, and for the first time since entering this building, Haruka let down his guard. Perhaps it was entirely unnecessary to have it up in the first place, as his gut feeling had definitely overreacted before, but he simply couldn't ignore feelings when they welled up so strongly.

"Ah, I wonder what they're like in person!" Makoto sighed, staring straight into Haruka's eyes. His gaze was intense, like he was pushing Haruka to pick up the underlying meaning of his words. "I can't wait to see them!"

As always, a mere look sent his way by those gorgeous eyes was enough to pin him down and to make him succumb to the impact Makoto had on him. He despised to admit it, but Makoto was right; these petty feelings of his shouldn't obscure his vision and draw away his attention from the real reason they were here.

"Me neither," Haruka mumbled, the tiniest of smiles appearing on his face at his husband's ability to ground him. That smile was wholeheartedly returned.

"But you've already seen them," Umiko said, "I don't even know what they look like yet!"

"They look like cats," Mizuki helpfully supplied, shaking his head at his older sister's ignorance. That much was obvious, wasn't it?

"Not all cats look the same! Dogs don't all look the same either."

"But cats are not dogs. Cats are cats."

"Doesn't mean they don't look different."

"Yes," Mizuki agreed, finally understanding what Umiko meant, "Papa said one is white and the other one is orange."

"That's not the only difference! They can be big or small or have spots or squished faces."

"Or socks," Makoto added to this highly intellectual discussion.

"Socks?!"

"Yes," he affirmed seriously, though it only deepened their frowns, "if they have white feet, it looks like they're wearing little socks, right? Though, judging by the pictures, I don't think Duchess has socks, and Princess is almost entirely white so that doesn't count."

"Princess is one big sock," Mizuki concluded, making Makoto chuckle heartily.

Even Haruka couldn't suppress a small snort. "I wouldn't say that to her," he advised, "she probably won't like being compared to a sock."

"No," Makoto said, "she is a princess after all."

"If Princess is a princess, then what is Duchess?" Umiko wondered.

"A cat."

"Yes," Makoto laughed again. Mizuki's simplicity was an endless source of amusement for both his husband and him. "But she's a duchess."

Already anticipating the question that was surely burning on the tip of their daughter's tongue, Haruka explained, "A duchess is a member of an important and noble family."

"So if you're important and noble, you're a duchess?"

"Not quite. It's a specific title only given to certain women of certain families. It's special, just like princesses are."

"Only women?" Mizuki asked, almost like he felt dejected that he couldn't be one if it was exclusively for women.

"Yes, because male duchesses are called dukes, just like you have princes and princesses. It's the same, it just has a different name."

"So which is more important?" Umiko questioned, "A princess or a duchess?"

"I believe a princess," Haruka said, deciding to keep things simple. If they wanted, they could look into the hierarchy of nobility more later, but for now, there were more pressing matters at hand.

"But," Makoto cut in before they would become unfairly biased against either cat just because of their names and the status those names implied, "when it comes to cats, they're all equally important."

"How important?"

"_Very_ important."

Umiko grinned at that. "Papa really loves cats."

"I do."

"But not as much as you love us," she stated confidently. There would never be a shred of doubt about that.

"Exactly," Makoto confirmed with his warm smile as he ruffled her black locks, "You know me so well."

"Look!" Mizuki suddenly exclaimed as he pointed at the window. His interest to partake in the conversation had dwindled in favour of being on the lookout for the lady to return, and when she did, she didn't disappoint; in her arms she was cradling a large, fluffy cat. "Princess!"

His family automatically looked up at the sound of his voice, and when they followed the direction of his small finger, they could not only see Princess coming into view, but also Duchess, who was being carried by an adolescent girl - presumably a part-timer or a volunteer.

"Duchess!" Umiko yelled excitedly, jumping up and down with joy. She could barely believe that Duchess actually looked like the cat of her dreams, not even as she was seeing it with her own two eyes.

"Here they are," Tanaka-san said as she and the girl entered the room, closing the door behind them before they put the cats down onto the floor. In addition, she introduced the girl as Hanazawa-san, a part-timer who worked mostly with the shelter's cats. Makoto replied with a brief introduction of their family.

"They're so cute!" Umiko squealed, covering her mouth with her hands, and Mizuki instantly voiced his agreement.

"Wait," Makoto told the children, knowing they were only a second removed from making a beeline towards the cat in their preferred colour, "Let them come to you." To show them what he meant, he crouched down and held out his hand as he softly called them over.

Meanwhile, Haruka opened up his bag to take out the camera once more. His husband was like a cat-magnet, and any scenario that involved him and any feline was guaranteed to be utterly adorable. He wouldn't want to miss out on capturing the first interactions of him and their future cats.

Curiosity piqued, Princess approached Makoto in an elegant stroll and she didn't seem wary at all; as soon as she sniffed his hand, she began to rub her head against it in both permission and a request to pet her. Naturally, Makoto complied. "Hi there, Princess," he murmured in a slightly higher pitch than normal as he scratched behind her ear, bringing down his other hand to stroke his fingers through her long fur, "Aren't you just the sweetest?"

Princess closed her aquamarine eyes as she leaned into his touch, purring softly to show her appreciation. This caught Duchess' attention, who seemed to be the more cautious of the two, and she followed Princesses example and slowly inched closer. Noticing the other cat drawing nearer, Makoto disentangled one of his hands from where it had been buried in Princess' fur to offer it to Duchess.

"They like you already!" Tanaka-san said with a smile, clasping her hands together in delight.

"All cats like Papa," Mizuki claimed, and Haruka wasn't sure if he was proud of that fact, or a little jealous of his father's ability to connect with any cat in a matter of seconds.

"Not just cats, I'm sure."

Within an instant, the alarm bells inside Haruka's head started to ring again and he whipped his head over to Tanaka-san to shoot her a not-so-subtle glare.

Taken aback by the imaginary daggers that were aimed at her, Tanaka-san elaborated with an awkward smile, "From what I've gathered, all the children at the swim club are really fond of Coach Tachibana too."

Haruka bit the inside of his cheek as he averted his head. The storm inside him hadn't been appeased just yet, as his suspicions of others were still as alive as they would be until he took his last breath, but things had quieted down inside his heart for a moment. Suddenly, he was very preoccupied with the settings of his camera.

"Yeah, but it's not the same," Umiko stated, completely unaware of the exchange of looks between her dad and the shelter-lady. "Everyone likes Papa because he's nice, but cats are special."

"That's not true," Makoto denied, and it honestly surprised Haruka that he had even heard their conversation when he was so lost in his fur-covered world. "You're making it sound like I'm some sort of cat-whisperer."

"You are."

"You are, Papa."

"You kind of are," Haruka agreed with the children, chuckling lightly as the sound of his husband's lovely voice had pulled him from his own obsessive world. He never failed to remind Haruka of what truly mattered, and in this case, it was experiencing this moment to safekeep forever. "You always have been, even when you were a child."

"You're exaggerating," Makoto brushed off, though the fact that he still had both Princess and Duchess' undivided attention proved otherwise. His green eyes were twinkling with joy as he continued to caress their heads; though Princess was only a bit bigger than Duchess, Duchess' face looked so small in Makoto's large hand, that could envelop it entirely. "I just love cats a lot, and I think they can sense it."

The shutter clicked and eternalised this tender sight. "I love cats too," Haruka disputed as he took a couple of steps to the side so he could get a different angle, "and though they generally like me too, it's just not the same."

At last, Mizuki's patience had finally run out. He couldn't care less about the conversation anymore, he just wanted to get the cats' attention. He crouched down and held out his little hands. "Princess, Princess," he called softly. It seemed like his colour-bias hadn't worn off just yet.

Upon hearing that high-pitched squeak of her name, Princess turned her head to look towards the source of the sound with curiosity still swimming in her gem-like eyes. Then she turned her head back to Makoto again, deeming that Mizuki wasn't worthy of her time right now.

Mizuki huffed at that haughty attitude and crossed his arms in offense, puffing out his cheeks to show his discontentment.

"She's a real princess, alright," Makoto giggled as Princess circled around his legs, trying to squeeze herself between him and Duchess to draw all of his attention to her.

With Mizuki being somewhat defeated by the cat's response - or lack thereof - Umiko found that it was her turn to try. She leaned down on one knee and cooed, "Duchess! Duchess, come here, kitty kitty."

Contrary to Princess, Duchess wasn't even interested in the call of her name. Instead, she took on Princess' challenge to compete for Makoto's love and jumped against him, pushing at his chest with her front paws.

Not being able to resist either cat, Makoto muttered, "Okay, okay, wait a second," and he sat down on the floor so he wouldn't have to worry about keeping his balance.

Princess immediately claimed his lap as her own personal throne, but Duchess wouldn't be defeated this easily. She rubbed her body against his legs persistently as she walked around him, attempting to nudge Princess away with every step she took.

"Tachibana-san, are you sure you didn't secretly slip some catnip into your pocket before you came here?" Hanazawa-san asked with an amused smile that she tried to hide behind her hand.

"I'm honestly starting to wonder if I did," Makoto joked, "I don't know why they like me so much, but I can't say that I mind it."

The probability of Makoto somehow having been born with properties similar to catnip was much higher than him sneaking it inside in order to gain the cats' affection, Haruka thought to himself with another snort. "Good thing you have two hands," he remarked, "otherwise you wouldn't know who to pet first."

"It's not fair!" Mizuki protested, and at last the envy was vibrant on his usually-stoic face.

"Yeah!" Umiko concurred, "I want them to like me too!"

"Me too!"

"Alright, come here," Makoto said, beckoning them closer with a wave of his hand.

Mizuki, long since tired of waiting, didn't need to be told twice and he walked towards his father and the cats with outstretched arms. His sights were still set on Princess and determination flickered in his sea-green eyes. Unlike her brother, Umiko was a bit unsure of what to do, so she stayed put for now and simply watched how Mizuki approached the cats.

"Be gentle, okay?" Makoto reminded with a kind smile, knowing how rough Mizuki could get without intending to, "You might hurt the kitty if you pet too hard."

"Like this?" Slowly, Mizuki ran his little hand over Princess' back.

"Yeah, just like that," Makoto encouraged, making sure to keep petting Duchess himself so she wouldn't feel left out.

Things like this never ceased to make Haruka's heart melt with adoration, and his finger automatically pressed the button that guaranteed his heart would still be able to melt because of this decades down the line.

"She's pretty."

"She really is, huh?" Makoto murmured, smile softening at their son's words. "And Duchess is too. They're both so sweet."

"I like them," Mizuki declared, reaching out his other hand to pet Duchess as well. Perhaps seeing them up-close was finally tearing apart his initial preference. He probably decided he had enough love to distribute between the two of them.

"Me too." The twinkle in Makoto's eyes was even brighter now, glad that their son, who always knew exactly what he wanted, liked the cats too. But there was one person whose approval was still missing. "Umiko?"

"No." Umiko shook her head; her mind was made up. "I want them to come to me first."

"Alright," Makoto said, smiling at her resolve. This was a battle for feline affection and Umiko wouldn't give in so easily. She was a real warrior.

Umiko sat down on her knees in the hopes that her lap could serve as Duchess' throne; it wasn't as big as her father's, but it was better than nothing, she decided. "Duchess! Come here, Duchess!" she called, loudly slapping her thighs in order to draw attention to herself. But despite all of Umiko's efforts, Duchess still couldn't be bothered. "Duchess, please!" Umiko pleaded, a gloomy frown twisting her features.

Saddened by the sight of the little girl's misfortune, Hanazawa-san scanned the room for an object that could help her on her quest. "Ah, there it is," she mumbled under her breath as she went to retrieve it. "Here," she said as she handed Umiko a small toy mouse, "Duchess loves this toy. It's one of her favourites!"

A huge grin split Umiko's face as she eagerly accepted the mouse. Attached to the end of the mouse's tail was a tiny bell, and that would surely be interesting to the cat. With newfound willpower, Umiko yelled, "Duchess!" and fiercely shook the toy.

At the sound of that familiar clinking, Duchess' ears perched up and she instantly whipped her head around to see where it was coming from. Less than a second later Duchess had snatched the toy out of Umiko's hands and she was staring up at Umiko with large, almost-hypnotised eyes in a request to play.

"Yes!" Umiko cheered as she reached out to pet Duchess who, because she had successfully seized her prey, allowed it. "Daddy, look at her!"

Haruka smiled at their daughter's enthusiasm and he got closer to her so he could take pictures of her and Duchess too. The way the toy was clamped in Duchess' mouth was absolutely adorable and it made for a great photo, as he knew that was what Umiko wanted of him.

After snapping a couple of close-ups, Haruka took a few steps back again so he could get more of the environment within frame too. Context was important in a series, and he wanted to make sure the memory of this playroom where they had first met their cats wouldn't be forgotten in the grand scheme of things.

"Here."

He looked up at the sound of Tanaka-san's voice, who held out her hands towards the camera in a silent offer to take pictures in his stead so he could join his family and the cats.

Doubt immediately clouded his mind. On one hand, he wanted to officially meet the cats too and truly live in the moment together with his husband and their kids. But on the other hand, he knew he would regret it if he didn't have pictures to commemorate today with and he didn't know if he could entrust Tanaka-san, a stranger who he was pretty sceptical of, with a task as important as this one. He was nowhere near a professional photographer himself, but he knew exactly how he wanted pictures to look and the risk of the end result not being up to his own standards was big if she was the one to take them.

His hesitancy was as clear as water since he didn't respond, so Tanaka-san tried again. "I have children too, you know."

Though he knew that already, the iteration of that fact was a bit reassuring nonetheless. What she meant by it was obvious, but he wasn't fully convinced just yet.

Although he didn't really care for being in their pictures, Makoto had told him that he did care and that he wanted Haruka to be a part of them too. By Makoto's demand, they would sometimes switch roles and he would snap some photos so that Haruka wasn't completely left out of them. But Makoto was so preoccupied with his new best friends right now that he probably hadn't even noticed that Haruka had brought the camera along in the first place. That being said, Haruka knew he would be disappointed when they looked back onto these pictures but his - in Makoto's words - beautiful husband was nowhere to be seen.

After carefully weighing down his options for about ten seconds, Haruka reluctantly handed over the camera to Tanaka-san. As she accepted it, Haruka got a front row seat to the exposition of the golden band that was wrapped around her left ring finger. It was shown in such an obvious manner that the message she wanted to send with it was conveyed loud and clearly. _I'm not trying to steal your man._

With that, the majority of Haruka's scepticism of her intentions slipped away. Evidently, she was not one of the single moms who preyed on Makoto like a cat on a toy mouse, though that didn't explain some of the, in his opinion, questionable things she had said. Perhaps she was just someone who appeared to be overly friendly, but meant no harm.

Before he could really get embarrassed of his own behaviour, he quickly explained how the camera worked in an attempt to distract both Tanaka-san and himself. Her knowing smile told him that he didn't need to worry, for she understood - whether that was the settings of the camera or the jealousy, Haruka didn't know, but he wasn't about to bring it up for discussion.

Once he was sure that Tanaka-san at least knew how to take proper pictures, Haruka crouched down next to Umiko and greeted Duchess with a scratch behind her ear. Her light brown eyes fell shut at the touch as she purred around the toy in contentment.

"Aw," Umiko sighed in adoration. It seemed like Duchess had won her over too - which didn't take a lot to begin with. "Papa, Mizuki, look! She's _so_ cute!"

The look of infatuation on Umiko's face was arguably just as cute and Haruka's hands itched to capture both adorable expressions. His gaze found Tanaka-san with the intent of signalling that he would like for her to take pictures of this, but he didn't need to bother. The cues that the situation emitted hadn't gone over her head as she was already crouching down with the camera in hand.

It was difficult to let go of control, but Haruka told himself that he should try to let Tanaka-san handle it. If he was constantly worrying about whether or not she was fulfilling the task she had been given correctly, then he still wouldn't live in the moment. That kind of defeated the purpose.

Fortunately, his husband and their kids - and apparently the cats as well - were great at gathering his attention.

"Daddy, you should come see Princess too," Mizuki thought.

Upon their son's request, Haruka stood up and sat down next to Makoto, but not before ruffling Duchess' head once more. The fluffy Princess had fallen asleep in the meanwhile, deeming Makoto's lap good enough for a quick nap. Haruka was glad that she was able to let down her guard like that, for it meant that she felt comfortable and safe in their presence. So far, it appeared that their liking of the cats was mutual.

"She's pretty, right?"

"Yes," Haruka agreed, smiling softly at Mizuki's repeated statement. He must have really thought so if he cared to say it twice. "Really pretty."

"Speaking of which," Makoto started, pulled from his cat-induced trance, "What breeds are they? It wasn't mentioned on the website."

"That's right," Tanaka-san confirmed, "we don't mention it on the website for every cat and there are two reasons for that. A lot of the cats that we have in our care are former strays, and we usually don't know what exact breed they are. And unlike with dogs, most people who are interested in adopting a cat aren't looking for a specific breed, but are more interested in their sex, their appearance, their behaviour, things like that."

Makoto hummed in understanding. After all, they hadn't been looking for a specific breed either, but more so the things that Tanaka-san had mentioned.

"Princess is a ragdoll," Hanazawa-san said with a smile, noticing that her superior hadn't answered the initial question. "We're not entirely sure about Duchess, so we guess she's a domestic shorthair."

"Why are you sure about Princess but not about Duchess?" Umiko asked in confusion.

"Unlike Princess, who was adopted from a certified breeder, the former owner found Duchess as a kitten so we don't know where exactly she originally came from," Hanazawa-san explained, "A lot of cats are actually mixed breeds, and those with short fur like Duchess are called 'domestic shorthairs'. Therefore, based on how she looks and the fact that domestic shorthairs are very common, the vet just assumed that she's one too."

"Technically, it's not a 'breed'," Tanaka-san added, making quotation marks in the air with her fingers, "But that's just what they're known as."

"Well, she's perfect even if she's not a breed," Umiko defended, petting Duchess' back decisively.

"She is," Hanazawa-san agreed, stifling a chuckle with her fist, "She's really cute, isn't she?"

"Yes," Umiko nodded fervently, "I really wanted an orange cat, and I'm happy they're both girls too. Daddy and Papa and Mizuki are all boys, so I'm the only girl at home. Now with Duchess and Princess, we're even!"

She had never voiced that thought before, so hearing her say it so nonchalantly took Haruka aback. He was sure that it wasn't something that bothered her on a day-to-day basis though, otherwise she would have mentioned it much sooner. Still, after seeing how victorious she looked now that the balance would be restored in their household, he was glad that it turned out like this too.

"If you're the only girl at home, that means you're special," Hanazawa-san claimed, and Umiko's eyes widened in surprise before an enormous grin stretched her cheeks; she had never regarded it like that before, but it sure was a nice way to look at it. "You know, Duchess is actually really special too."

"How so?"

"Most orange cats are boys, so the fact that Duchess is both orange and a girl is rare."

"Wow!"

"And Princess?" Mizuki asked, not wanting her to be left out, "Is she special too?"

"Of course," Hanazawa-san stated confidently, "There aren't many cats who can call themselves a princess, right?"

"No, because cats can't talk."

Haruka and Makoto snorted at the answer that was so typically-Mizuki. It wasn't quite what she was expecting, but thankfully, Hanazawa-san recovered quickly enough.

"Sorry, I meant that _we_ can call a princess."

That was a more acceptable response to Mizuki and he nodded in what could either have been understanding or agreement. Then he turned back to Princess, tangling his little fingers through her fur.

"So pretty," he mumbled under his breath, making Haruka bite his lip to hold back an audible huff of fondness. He was starting to sound like a broken record and it was just too endearing.

He wasn't wrong though, and the longer Haruka was in their presence, the more confused he became about their current place of residence. He simply didn't understand how two cats as cute and sweet as Princess and Duchess weren't adopted sooner. While all cats were lovable in their own ways, they truly were the polished diamonds among the rough.

"Have they been here for long?" Makoto asked, and it was the exact question that had been on Haruka's mind too - either he had noticed that and decided to speak up for him like he did more often, or he had been thinking about it as well. Regardless, Haruka couldn't help but smile because they were on the same wavelength as always.

"No, they were brought in just a little over a week ago," Tanaka-san replied, "We were surprised when we received your email, since they had only been up on the website for a few days and we didn't expect to get a response so soon."

"I'm glad," Makoto sighed in relief, "I'd feel bad if they were here for a long time… Not that it's not nice here or that you don't take good care of them, but-"

"It's alright, I understand what you mean," Tanaka-san interrupted Makoto's flurry with an amused chuckle, "We take care of all our animals to the best of our ability, but they don't belong here: they all deserve to have a loving home."

"And we can give them that!" Umiko chimed in, sounding both excited and hopeful as she looked back and forth between her parents. "Right?"

Makoto gazed at him from the corner of his eye and Haruka gave him a tiny nod. As if he even needed to ask at this point.

"Of course," Makoto said, and the smile that adorned his handsome face was somehow even more sunny now than it was normally. After all, Umiko wasn't the only one whose heart had been stolen by the two cats; their entire family had fallen victim to their charm, and there was no way they could ever break the spell they had been captured in from the very first moment. They wanted Princess and Duchess to be a part of their family, for now and forever.

When she processed that confirmation, Umiko's mouth fell open in disbelief before a grin as wide as her cheeks would allow beamed off her face. She was so indescribably happy, and she wasn't the only one. Even the usually-stoic Mizuki was overwhelmed with glee.

"Yes!"

"You hear that, Duchess?" Umiko squealed as she threw her arms around the cat in a triumphant hug. Duchess fortunately didn't seem to be bothered by the cage of overly zealous six-year-old that she was trapped in, "You're my cat now!"

"_Our_ cat!" Mizuki corrected firmly, "And Princess is too!" To prove his point, Mizuki wrapped his arms around Princess and put his cheek onto her back.

Princess didn't bat an eye at the children, for even their high-pitched shrieking wasn't enough to pull her from her dreams. Haruka understood it though. He knew better than anyone how comfortable her pillow was, so it would be a waste to be disturbed and get up from it without needing to.

Unlike normally, the kids didn't bicker about it any longer because they were both too absorbed in their happiness to pay the other further mind, and they cuddled the cats as much as they could in their positions.

Seeing their children so overjoyed naturally made Haruka smile too. He turned his head to look at his husband. A radiating smile softened his beautiful features as well, and Haruka's heart swelled inside his chest as he reached out to take his hand. Makoto met his gaze and rubbed his thumb over his skin in response, and it took all the strength in Haruka's body to stop himself from kissing him right then and there. He would have to save up his affections for now so he could let them run wild later.

They never needed words to convey what was on their mind; finally, after thirty years, their promise was fulfilled. And they wouldn't have just one, but two cats of their very own - which was probably a good thing, since they had three decades worth of built-up love to shower their cats in, and they wouldn't want to drown them right away.

"This is really great. I'm glad that you have found each other," Tanaka-san said with a kind smile, and Haruka could tell she was genuinely relieved that Princess and Duchess found a new family so soon.

After having such a loving home for pretty much all their lives, they were suddenly torn away from everything they knew and put in this unfamiliar environment, and that surely wasn't easy on them. So Haruka dearly hoped that they would be able to restore the warmth and serenity for them and become the loving home they had always had, and always deserved to have.

"We are glad we found them too," Makoto muttered, his free hand coming up to stroke his fingers over Princess' head once more, "Is there anything else we should know about them? Like grooming, or medication, or…"

Tanaka-san shrugged. "I'll have to look in their files for that."

"I know!" Hanazawa-san blurted, "Princess needs to be brushed at least twice a week to prevent her fur from getting matted, but Duchess only has to be brushed about once a week to remove any loose hairs and to keep her fur healthy. Next to that, they might need to get their nails trimmed and their ears cleaned every once in a while, and it's important to keep their teeth clean too. But those are things that you should probably talk to a vet about, since things like the frequency that's necessary differs for each cat. Right now, they're as healthy as can be, but it's important to keep an eye on certain things, like their diet and-" She abruptly cut herself off when she realised she was rambling rapidly, and blood rushed to her cheeks in fear of having been incoherent. "I'm sorry, I…"

Makoto only smiled at her passion. "You sure are knowledgeable about cats, Hanazawa-san," he complimented with his trademark head-tilt, "Thank you. We'll take them to the vet regularly to make sure they stay healthy."

"Ah well," Hanazawa-san mumbled sheepishly as she averted her eyes, "I just love cats a lot, and it's my job, so I have to know a lot about them."

"Oh," Tanaka-san suddenly breathed as she remembered something vital, "They are both indoor cats though. They've never really been outside before so it can be dangerous for them out there. Because of that, we advise you to keep them inside for their own safety."

"Yes, we read on the website that they're indoor cats," Makoto said in assurance, "Of course, we'll keep it that way. We wouldn't want anything to happen to them." The mere thought of all the things that could happen to them outside if they weren't used to defending themselves or didn't know how to deal with traffic was enough to make his stomach churn, or so Haruka could read in his eyes. That feeling was entirely shared.

"That's good to know," Tanaka-san replied earnestly. "Now, is there anything else you want to know about them?"

Unconsciously, Makoto brought his hand up to cup his chin as he contemplated that, and Haruka also tried his best to recall if there was anything else that was necessary for them to know that they hadn't been told yet. He couldn't think of anything else right then, as things about more in-depth medical care were going to have to be asked to a vet like Hanazawa-san had suggested.

"I have a question!" Umiko said as she raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"When are their birthdays?"

A very important question, Haruka had to give her that. How would they be able to celebrate their special days if they didn't know on which dates they were born?

"That's a good question," Tanaka-san agreed, smiling kindly down at Umiko, "but I'm afraid that I don't know that from the top of my head, so I will have to look that up in their files. Unless…"

All eyes in the room - with the exception of the cats' - turned to Hanazawa-san, who abashedly rubbed her hand over her arm as she looked away from the prying gazes; an action that indicated that she did know, but was embarrassed to admit it.

"Um," she started, "Because Duchess was found as a kitten, they didn't know her exact date of birth. But based on how old she was at the time, the vet estimated that she must have been born around May 11th, and the former owner accepted that as her birthday so that's what her documents say."

"And Princess?" Mizuki questioned the instant Hanazawa-san finished her sentence. He was very adamant about the fluffy cat not being left out. Something told Haruka that he was going to do everything in his might to become Princess' best friend.

Hanazawa-san smiled at his eagerness. "We _are_ certain about Princess' birthday: it's February 8th."

Mizuki gasped in disbelief. "That's the same as me!"

"No, Mizuki," Haruka refuted with a shake of his head. "Your birthday is _January_ 8th."

"Oh yeah."

Makoto giggled lightly at their son's mix-up, his thoughts undoubtedly filled with nothing but adoration for him and the rest of his family. His beautiful laughter was contagious and everyone merrily chuckled along with him, even Mizuki himself.

"My birthday is August 26th," Umiko announced. Like Princess, she obviously couldn't be left out either.

"Really?" Hanazawa-san played along, "Mine is August 28th!"

"That's so close to mine!"

"Yeah," she concurred, "And, Umiko-chan, how old will you be on August 26th?"

"Seven!"

"Seven?" Tanaka-san joined in, "You're going to be a big girl, then."

Before Umiko had the chance to argue that and claim she already was a big girl, thank you very much, Mizuki said, "I'm turning five."

"Not until next year, you already had your birthday this year!"

Afraid that the children would end up arguing about this, Tanaka-san diverted the conversation back to Umiko, "So, you're going to have a big party in August, then."

"Yeah, but it's going to be Daddy's birthday first! His birthday is-"

Umiko was interrupted by the distant sound of a bell, the noise that indicated that someone else had entered the shelter and was requesting the presence of an employee.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I completely forgot," Tanaka-san blurted in recollection, "We have another appointment today."

"It's alright," Makoto dismissed with a faux smile, "Do you still have time for us to sign the adoption papers right now? I don't think we can take them with us today since our home isn't ready yet, so is it alright if we come pick them up tomorrow?"

"Eh? But I wanted to play with them more!" Umiko protested.

"Me too!"

"I know, but there are other people who want to meet their new pet too. Starting tomorrow, you can play with them every day, but for now we have to leave," Makoto explained to the children, who admitted defeat, but not without loud and exaggerated heaves and pouts.

"Actually, if you want, you can stay here and play with them some more," Tanaka-san said, "The other appointment is for a dog, so we don't need this room right now. We can take care of the paperwork later, if that's okay with you."

"Yes!" Mizuki yelled instantly.

"Papa, please?"

"If it's really no problem… I guess we can stay a little longer," Makoto obliged, making the children cheer and thank him profusely, but Haruka knew he was doing himself just as much of a favour. He wouldn't let it show, but beneath his responsible-adult demeanour, he truly hadn't had enough of the cats yet either and wished to stay just as much.

He might be able to fool strangers, perhaps even their own children, but he could never fool his husband.

Tanaka-san gave Haruka the camera back and then she left the room with a small wave and a promise to return later to take care of the paperwork. Haruka was tempted to sneak a look at some of the pictures she had taken - and, if they were inadequate, take some better ones - but he held himself back. These pictures would remain a secret until they were at home and he could look at them together with Makoto, but in the meantime, he didn't see why he couldn't snap a couple more, just to be sure. One could never have too many tokens of a special occasion, or so he had discovered with the hundreds upon hundreds of wedding photos they had.

But then, Hanazawa-san held out her hand. "I can take some pictures, if you'd like," she offered with a shy smile. Before he had the chance to object - or question her qualifications and experience - she continued, "I'm usually the one who takes the pictures that go up on the website. That includes Princess and Duchess'."

Unlike with Tanaka-san, this time Haruka didn't hesitate. It were the pictures of the two cats that had initially captivated Makoto, and if Hanazawa-san was the one who took them, then that must have meant that she was at least somewhat of a decent photographer.

And she immediately proved her worth. She made them scoot closer together for their first official family photo with the new members. While Haruka's own pictures were usually a bit more spontaneous, he couldn't deny that it was nice to have a portrait like this that captured everyone in one shot. For his husband's sake, he did his best to smile a little too.

After a couple shots, Hanazawa-san deemed it good enough and let them return to playing and cuddling with the cats.

Umiko finally did what Duchess had wanted of her all along: she began to play with her, giggling as she moved the toy mouse around the floor while the cat swatted at her hand in an attempt to catch it.

The chiming of the bell in combination with the sound of Duchess' paws tapping on the tile floor arose Princess from her beauty sleep, and Mizuki found that now was the time that he could play with her. He tried to catch her interest with some of the toys that were nearby, but she didn't particularly care about any of them so he had to change his tactic.

Luckily, Hanazawa-san came to his rescue. If there was one thing that Princess loved, it was food, so she gave Mizuki a ball that had a few treats inside. She said that that was one of the best ways to make her get some exercise - which she needed, or else she'd get chubby in no time with her gluttonous tendencies - and she wasn't exaggerating; once she smelled the food inside, Princess immediately began to chase the toy.

Mizuki's sea-green eyes lit up in bliss as he rolled the ball over the floor from one hand to the other, the occasional treat falling out of it which disappeared again in less than a second with a mere flick of Princess' tongue before she targeted the next one.

Warmth filled Haruka's chest as he watched the children play with the cats. _Their_ cats. Although he would have liked to join in on the fun, he was content with simply looking for now. After all of Umiko and Mizuki's attempts at persuading him to get them a dog, there had been lingering slivers of fear that they wouldn't like the cats and had just gone along with it because they desperately wanted to have a pet of some sort. But seeing them like this took all of those worries away, because their children were open books and nothing but genuine excitement and affection was scribbled across their pages.

A slight squeeze of his hand told him that his husband felt the exact same way. After unintentionally having stolen the limelight from the very start, Makoto allowed the kids to have their moments with the cats too. Though he loved to play with cats as well, having to watch from afar was definitely no punishment.

A little while later, Hanazawa-san excused herself to go take care of the other cats. Once more, Makoto got up and offered for them to leave, but Hanazawa-san assured him that they could stay until her superior returned. She wasn't in charge of the paperwork and therefore wouldn't be able to help them further, so they might as well wait for Tanaka-san to be ready in here with the cats than in the waiting room.

Time flew by without their awareness, as every minute that trickled by felt like a mere second when company was as great as this. The camera was passed around between Haruka and Makoto to eternalise every endearing move, interaction and expression.

After a few rounds of chasing the ball in the hope of gathering treats, Princess decided to forfeit in favour of taking another nap. It had been a race to see which ran out first: the treats inside the ball or Princess' energy, and it seemed like it was the latter - which was understandable, since playing around and eating took a lot of effort and could be very draining. This time, she picked Haruka's lap as a suitable bed. Haruka was sure he wasn't her first choice, considering Makoto was currently up on his knees, snapping photos of Umiko and Duchess, but he would settle for second best, he thought to himself with a smile.

Not longer wanting to wait for Princess to wake up again, Mizuki crawled over to his sister and the orange tabby to play along with them instead. Makoto joined in too, but not before taking a picture of Princess all cuddled up in his husband's lap, whose gentle gaze and soft smile just so happened to be within frame.

Haruka was invited to play along too, but he declined their offer. He wouldn't want to disrupt Princess' well-earned nap. Being a spectator wasn't bad at all when the game he was witnessing was both amusing and endearing. The mouse toy was thrown from one person to the other while Duchess did her very best to snatch it away. Haruka couldn't help but snort when Duchess caught it before Mizuki could, much to his dismay.

Duchess might have bested him now, but Mizuki wouldn't give in that easily. He reclaimed the toy and tossed it over to his father, who quickly threw it in Umiko's direction in an indication that they had to pick up the pace. The children giggled excitedly as they passed around the toy as fast as they could, and Haruka changed modes on the camera so he could record their little game.

Watching his family having fun like this always flooded Haruka with happiness. Moments like these weren't rare at all but that didn't make them any less cherished, and he thanked the heavens for every minute he got to spend alongside his family. And the prospect that only more were ahead of him, not just with his husband and their children, but now with their cats too, made a small yet unerasable smile adorn his face.

* * *

Eventually the door was opened again and Tanaka-san poked her head through it, an awkward smile tugging at her lips. "Sorry to disturb, but it's almost time for us to close, so…"

Makoto looked down at his watch to check the time and he saw that it was almost seven o'clock already; the visiting hours ended fifty minutes ago. He gasped audibly, "Oh, we're so sorry, we completely lost track of time!"

"It's alright, if it was a problem then I would have come to get you earlier," Tanaka-san assured, "We actually just finished up with the other adoption, so it's really no issue."

"Alright, it's time to say goodbye now," Haruka told the children, who still looked a bit sad that they had to leave their new friends behind but were more at peace with it now than they were an hour and a half ago.

"Bye Duchess, I'm going to miss you lots, but I'll see you again tomorrow, okay?" Umiko said to the tabby cat, who didn't understand a single word and just kept staring at her. Then she leaned down and pressed a loud kiss against Duchess' head.

"I want to give her a kiss too!" Mizuki whined and he copied his sister's behaviour.

The girl in question had already moved on to Princess, who was still nestled in her dad's lap, and gave her the same treatment.

Once both kids were done saying their goodbyes to the new members of their family, it was their parents' turn. Makoto whispered some sweet nothings to Princess and Duchess before lightly pecking their foreheads too, briefly nuzzling his nose into their soft fur. Haruka picked Princess off his lap, who hung limply in his arms as he got up, showing that she had no intention of moving or leaving any time soon. So Haruka handed her to Hanazawa-san, who had returned with another coworker that went inside to retrieve Duchess too. He gave Duchess another scratch behind her ear once she was in the man's arms.

"Bye Duchess, bye Princess! See you tomorrow!" Umiko called as the two shelter-employees left with the cats, wildly waving at them together with her brother. For good measure, Makoto waved along too.

When the employees were out of sight, they followed Tanaka-san back into the lobby. All the paperwork was already printed and lying out on the counter, proving that Tanaka-san had purposely taken care of that beforehand to give them some more time with the cats.

"Here's a list of all the items that came in with them," Tanaka-san said as she slid one of the papers over to them.

At the top of the list was one of the cat trees they had seen earlier, along with a couple of pillows and beds, two carriers, a litter box, two scratching boards and about a dozen toys.

"It's all nice stuff," Makoto muttered under his breath, glancing over to Haruka for a second to ask for his opinion.

Haruka nodded in agreement. Everything seemed to be in good condition, but with the space in their house in mind, they would still need to go to the store to get some more things; if they had enough scratching posts and toys to entertain them, then maybe they would spare the curtains. "Are you sure there aren't some things that you would like to keep here?"

"There are still some things we need to get anyway," Makoto added, "and there must be some things you can use."

"That's very kind of you," Tanaka-san replied, "but really, it's alright."

Haruka pursed his lips as he thought about that. "Keep the litter box," he said decisively. He figured that would be the item the cats were the least emotionally attached to, and they already had to get a second one anyway, so they might as well get two brand new ones. This would not only help out the shelter, but also save them the hassle of moving and cleaning it - and while they were at it, perhaps they could pick litter boxes that matched the rest of their furniture a bit.

"Are you sure? You really don't have to…"

"Yes," Makoto confirmed with a blinding smile, "Consider it to be our donation."

"Ah, well, thank you. We appreciate it," Tanaka-san said with a slight bow of gratitude. Then she searched for the adoption papers on the desk and handed Makoto a pen. "Now, please sign here, here, here and here to officiate the adoption."

While Makoto signed all the papers, Haruka took his wallet out of his bag and paid the adoption fee of roughly 25,000 yen in total.

"There," Makoto muttered under his breath as he gave the pen back.

"Thank you. Then these are for you." She kept two of the papers on the counter and put the others back onto the desk beside the computer. "These numbers are their chip IDs. You can go to this website and fill in the numbers to register your name and address in their chips."

"Thank you," Makoto echoed, "Then we'll come pick them up tomorrow morning, if that's alright?"

"That's fine, we'll make sure they and all their stuff are ready by then."

"Oh," Makoto sighed as he remembered something vital and he turned to his husband, "But how are we going to get the tree home?"

Haruka pondered about that for a second. They had a moderately-sized family car, but even if they went through the trouble to take the cat tree apart then it might not fit inside entirely. They could make multiple trips, but there had to be an easier solution. "Doesn't Yamato-san have a minivan?"

"I think he does!" Makoto affirmed, smiling excitedly at Haruka, "I'll ask him if we can borrow it!" Instantly, Makoto fished his phone out of his pocket and typed a quick message to their coworker.

"In that case, we won't take it apart," Tanaka-san commented, "Well then, I'll see you tomorrow."

They thanked Tanaka-san once more for all her help and said their goodbyes before they took their leave.

"Can I come tomorrow too?" Umiko asked once Makoto was helping her into her carseat.

"Me too!"

"No," Haruka immediately refused, "You have to go to school."

"Yes, but you and Papa have to work," Mizuki argued, "So you can't go get them either."

"I'll take some work home so I can go get them and they won't be all alone on the first day," Haruka simply answered, "That's what I used to do when you were younger too, remember?"

"And my classes don't start until eleven tomorrow morning," Makoto added with an apologetic smile, "So I can help Daddy with picking them up before I go to work."

Knowing that her parents wouldn't let her stay home without a valid reason - and wanting to stay home to play with their two newly-adopted cats wasn't good enough - Umiko decided to take a different approach. She faked a cough and sniffed deeply. "I think I'm getting sick."

Inspired by that brilliant idea that hadn't even crossed his mind, Mizuki mimicked his sister's behaviour and mumbled, "Me too."

"Oh no," Makoto played along, the feigned concern in his voice sounding pretty believable for someone who was so bad at acting. "If you're getting sick, then you can't go to school tomorrow."

Two pairs of eyes lit up as the kids thought their sneaky plan had worked, but before they could actually reap the fruits, their father went and ruined it.

"You'll have to stay in bed all day to make sure you get better, and you can't see the cats either."

"What?"

"Why not?" Umiko questioned, panic beginning to bubble up and resonating in her high-pitched voice.

"What if you infect them? If you're both sick then I think it's very contagious, and we wouldn't want the cats to get sick too, right?" Makoto explained, and Haruka had to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing at the looks on the children's faces. "So you'll have to stay in bed and won't be able to see them until you're all better."

"A-Actually, I'm feeling better already," Umiko stumbled in an attempt to undo the damage without admitting she had lied. But Makoto wouldn't let her off the hook that easily.

"Are you sure? You seem a little pale to me," he muttered and he brushed her fringe back as he pressed his fingers against her forehead, "And you feel warm too. Should we go to the doctor?"

"No!" she yelled, "Papa, I promise I'm better, I just…" There was no escaping it now; she had to tell the truth. "I just wanted to stay home to play with Duchess and Princess. I'm sorry."

A smile of understanding softened Makoto's lips. "I know. I was just teasing you."

"We know you would rather play with the cats than go to school," Haruka started, "I'm sure Papa wants to stay home and play with them all day too, but there are just some things that we have to do, like going to school or work, even if they're not what we want to do at that moment."

"But we can play with them after school and work is over," Makoto continued, "So we'll have something to look forward to all day. And maybe, you can bring your friends over to play with them too," he suggested after glancing at Haruka to get his approval.

"Not tomorrow, I want to play with them alone first," Mizuki claimed, crossing his arms solemnly.

"They might feel scared if they're surrounded by a lot of people at once," Umiko remarked, thinking back to what her father had said earlier about her friend's guinea pigs.

"I don't think that will be an issue," Makoto thought, "but you don't have to invite them over if you don't want to. It's your decision."

"I'll invite them over another time. First it's my turn to see Suzu-chan's guinea pig since she got it first," Umiko reasoned, which was fair enough.

"I'm not sick," Mizuki declared seemingly out of nowhere, "But I am hungry."

"Me too!"

It wasn't odd, considering they had only had one vanilla muffin since lunch. "I'll start on dinner as soon as we get home," Haruka promised, and to make sure they would get home as soon as possible, he closed the door and sat down in the driver's seat. Makoto followed his example and got in as well.

"But I'm hungry _now_," Mizuki emphasised in that whiny tone he had carefully developed over the past four years. Haruka was glad that he had brought the muffins earlier, otherwise it would have rained complaints hours ago.

"I know, but I don't have any food with me right now. We'll be home soon and I'll make something quick."

"Or," Makoto said, once more looking at his husband to ask for his permission, "Maybe, because it's a special day, we can go out to eat somewhere else…?"

"Yes!" Umiko and Mizuki cheered in unison. They loved their dad's cooking, but they would never turn down the invitation of getting to eat at a restaurant.

Haruka knew that Makoto's invitation wasn't just to appease their children. Waiting for food to be done at a restaurant took about the same time as waiting for him to whip up something quick at home, but eating outdoors saved Haruka the trouble of preparing a balanced meal. Although he didn't mind cooking at all, he couldn't deny that it would be nice to have to do nothing but sit and wait in order to get food for a change. That, paired with the fact that it made the children so happy, made him nod in agreement.

"And maybe, when we're done eating, we can go to the store to pick out some stuff for the cats!" Makoto proposed, figuring that they might as well get the necessities now so they wouldn't have to rush to get everything ready tomorrow morning.

"Will it still be open after we're done eating?" Umiko wondered.

"If we're fast. After all, we have to get home before your bedtime, too."

The mention of the most dreaded time of days coaxed protests out of them, and Haruka snorted. He was certain they would fall asleep somewhere along the way home, as he knew their excitement had worn them out like it always did.

But in order to make sure they would stay awake for as long as necessary, Haruka put the key into the slot to turn the car on and he asked, "So where do you want to eat?"

* * *

**A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed! If you did, I'd love to hear it! :)**

**Again, I'm not a cat owner so I don't have any first-hand experience that I can apply to this fic, but Princess and Duchess _might_ have been losely based on my own dogs, haha.**

**As always you can find me on Tumblr, Twitter and Curious Cat at DatHeetJoella for more MakoHaru content in-between fic updates.**

**Thank you once again for reading, I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you'll stick around for the last part of this fic, that should be up soon! In the meanwhile, I wish you all an amazing day! 3**


	3. A Promise Fulfilled, A Family Completed

**A/N: Happy White Day everyone and welcome to what is already the last part of this little fic. I hope you'll all enjoy the conclusion, especially you, Kelly! :)**

* * *

"Can I have it now?"

"No! I had it first, go get another toy!"

"But she doesn't want another toy! She only wants to play with that one!"

"Well, I had it first, so you can have it when I'm done!"

"Papa!"

A deep sigh left Makoto's lips as he pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing that was his cue to step in. "Stop fighting," he commanded as he glanced down at his watch, "Umiko, you can have the toy for two more minutes, and then it's Mizuki's turn."

"That's not fair!" Umiko objected as she tightened her grip around the cat toy. Duchess waited impatiently at her feet. "I had it first!"

"I know," Makoto said, "But Mizuki can have his turn to play with Duchess too. Two more minutes."

"Fine," she huffed, and she didn't waste another second before she continued where she left off. She ran around the room with the stick of the toy in her hand, while Duchess chased the plush mackerel that was dangling from the end of the string.

Haruka listened to the ruckus in the living room from the kitchen where he was finishing up the dishes, a soft smile on his face at the daily recurrence of bickering between the siblings. Makoto had offered to help him out with the dishes, but he had dismissed him so he could keep an eye on the children and the cats. In hindsight, that was a very wise decision.

After dinner last night, they went to a pet store to gather the rest of the necessities to cat-proof their home. While Makoto and he looked at litter boxes and scratching posts, they told the children that they could each pick out one toy for the cats. Mizuki went straight for a ball to put treats in like the one Princess and he had played with earlier, while Umiko took her time to inspect each toy the store possessed carefully. Eventually, she settled on a mouse toy similar to the one that Duchess loved - which Haruka didn't really understand considering that specific toy would already be theirs tomorrow, but it was her decision so he didn't argue it.

That was the moment Haruka spotted it: a fishing pole with a little mackerel attached to the end. The instant he saw it, he knew it was vital for their cats to have, so he added it to their cart. As predicted, Duchess absolutely loved it and wouldn't play with anything else. It was understandable, because mackerel was simply amazing in every shape, way, and form. Princess had shown some mild interest as well, but her favourite contender was still the treat ball. He knew their cats would have refined taste.

Haruka dried his hands with the towel for good measure after he put the last plate away, and then he joined his family in the living room. Umiko was still running around frantically, while Mizuki was sat on the floor next to his father, petting Princess - who had once again claimed Makoto's lap as her own - as he counted down the last minute until it was his turn.

Seeing their children so cheerful, so involved with the cats, warmed Haruka to his very core. Usually he would have turned to grab his camera, but the SD card was already full with pictures taken this afternoon.

The second school was out, Umiko and Mizuki wanted to rush home as fast as humanly possible so they could play with the cats. They had been patient the entire day, and they didn't want to wait any longer to get their reward for being good at school: being allowed to cuddle and play with Princess and Duchess for the remainder of the day.

To their surprise, it wasn't just the cats that were waiting for their arrival. When they came home, Grandma and Grandpa were already seated on the couch. There was no way that they would pass up on getting to meet their new grandchildren, Grandpa had joked.

Grandma wasn't as amused as her husband. Both Princess and Duchess had rubbed their faces against her arms, making her eyes red and puffy and she kept sneezing. It seemed like having properties similar to catnip ran in the family, but while it was a blessing for Makoto, his mother wasn't as fortunate and had been cursed by allergies to go along with it.

When the children noticed this, they feared that this meant that their beloved grandmother wouldn't visit again. They were ecstatic about Princess and Duchess, but the idea of Grandma never coming over to their house to play again because of them was incredibly upsetting and they immediately voiced their displeasure about it.

Fortunately, Grandma assured them that even her cat allergy could never keep her away from her grandkids. She would make sure to take some medicine before she would come over in the future so it wouldn't be an issue. When Makoto got back from work that evening and heard about it, he said that she also could have taken meds for her allergy back when he was a kid so he could have had a cat back then, but Umiko and Mizuki brushed off his complaints. He had two cats now, and he should be grateful for it, they thought. Ultimately, it only made Makoto laugh before he agreed with them.

If Makoto's mother heard about it, she would probably tease him by saying that she obviously loved Umiko and Mizuki way more than she loved him. They would all know that was a lie anyway.

Haruka crouched down next to his husband, figuring that he might as well pet Princess for a bit while they waited for the children's playtime to run out.

"Now it's my turn!" Mizuki yelled the instant he saw the minute-hand of his father's watch move ever so slightly for the second time, like Makoto had explained to him.

Umiko looked hesitantly over to Makoto, but he only confirmed it. "He's right, it's his turn now."

"Yes!" Mizuki cheered as he snatched the toy out of his sister's hands.

"Listen, Mizuki," Makoto said before he could take off, "You can play with her for five minutes, and then it's time for bed."

"That's not fair!" Mizuki protested - apparently a good sense of justice ran in the family too, "She got way longer than that!"

"I know," Makoto repeated with another sigh, "But it's already ten minutes past your bedtime. I promise you can play with her first tomorrow."

"I don't want to play with her tomorrow, I want to play with her _now_!"

Then, Makoto did something he'd rarely do: he clicked his tongue in annoyance. It honestly baffled Haruka. His husband was usually so calm and composed, especially when it came to their children, but it seemed like he had no more energy to deal with Mizuki's persistence right now. It didn't happen very frequently, but once Mizuki got started, it wouldn't take much until he threw a full on tantrum to get what he wanted.

Fortunately, it seemed like it wouldn't get to that just yet. "Alright," Makoto complied, "You can play for ten more minutes, but then you won't get a bedtime story."

Umiko wanted to cut in and complain, since she wouldn't let her bedtime story be traded by her brother like that without her getting anything in return, but Haruka hushed her before she could open her mouth. This was between Makoto and Mizuki, and Haruka knew their son well enough to know he wouldn't just give up his treasured bedtime story like that, so Umiko had nothing to worry about in the first place.

Mizuki's eyes widened and his jaw dropped just a little at that proposal. "I want to play for ten minutes _and_ a bedtime story," he tried to bargain, but unfortunately for him, Makoto shook his head at that.

"No. You can have five minutes and a bedtime story, or ten minutes and no story."

A big huff left Mizuki's chest, pursing his lips as he weighed down his options. "I can play with her first tomorrow?"

"Yes," Makoto promised with a solemn nod.

"Five minutes, then," Mizuki gave in, and the second the words were across his lips, he began to run around like his sister had done.

Makoto smiled at his victory; crisis averted.

Contrary to what everyone had expected, Makoto wasn't as much of a pushover anymore as he had been when he was younger. He loved their children immensely and wanted to give them everything their hearts desired, but he knew that he had to stand his ground in cases like these.

Admittedly, it was a little unfair that Umiko got longer than Mizuki and Makoto definitely thought so too, but they had all lost track of the minutes ticking by today. By the time the children were in bed, it would already be around half an hour past their usual bedtime, and that didn't even include the story. Bedtime was the most dreaded time of day so Umiko and Mizuki didn't mind it in the slightest, but Haruka knew they would get cranky in the morning if they didn't get a full night's sleep.

So while Mizuki might not have liked his time limit, it was good that Makoto gave him a warning beforehand. He couldn't properly read the clock yet, but if he felt like his sister got longer than him, he would surely get mad and argue about it, which would only cause for him and Umiko to be up even longer. The assurance that he would be the first one who was allowed to play with Duchess tomorrow made up for a lot too.

And the fact that they had reached that compromise without shed tears was just the cherry on top.

Though the children were both so infatuated now, Haruka knew this obsession with the cats would be fleeting. It would probably only last for a couple of days, and once their excitement wore off, they'd still want to play with Princess and Duchess, but they wouldn't fight for their attention anymore like they were doing now.

Because of that, he supposed it wasn't too bad that they stayed up a little later today. It just meant that Makoto would have to keep his story short.

"Did you call the vet already?" Makoto asked, having forgotten about it earlier during all the commotion.

"Yes," Haruka confirmed, "We can come tomorrow at seven."

A soft smile graced Makoto's handsome features. "Thanks!"

"Can I come too?"

As usual, Umiko immediately chimed in and Haruka smiled as well. He had expected as much.

"Do you want to?"

"Yes!"

"Okay," Haruka replied. He had purposely asked the vet to schedule them in the early evening, knowing that Makoto and the kids would want to come to the cats' very first vet appointment.

"What?" Mizuki questioned, stopping in his tracks.

"Daddy says I can come to the vet tomorrow!"

"And me?"

"You can come too, of course," Haruka assured, and Mizuki nodded in response.

"Time's up!" Umiko yelled a little too excitedly, her large brown eyes focused on the clock that hung on the wall.

Mizuki gasped in horror. The fact that he only had five minutes had clearly slipped his mind.

"No it's not," Makoto denied, "He still has two minutes."

Umiko opened her mouth once again to argue that, because unlike her little brother, she could actually read the clock; she had learned it just recently and she took pride in her newfound ability. Makoto nudged her gently with his elbow and then he winked at her.

Perhaps his husband was still a big pushover after all.

Not wanting to lose any more time, Mizuki resumed playing instantly and Duchess jumped up against him, knocking him off his balance. He fell on his knees with a soft thud and Duchess saw her chance and caught the toy, running off with her seized prey.

Fearing the tears that were always on the verge of overflowing, both Haruka and Makoto wanted to get up as quickly as possible to come to Mizuki's aid, to lift him up and ask if he was okay. But before they could even formulate a question, Mizuki giggled and pushed himself off the floor to chase after Duchess.

They simultaneously let out a deep breath of relief. For the second time that evening, a crisis was averted.

"Alright," Makoto said when the extra time was over as well, "Time for bed. Say goodnight to the cats."

"They can come with us!" Umiko said determinedly, "They can sleep in my bed with me!"

"No!" Mizuki objected, "They can sleep with me!"

"No," Haruka echoed, "the cats are staying downstairs. They have their own beds."

"Daddy, please?"

"Please?"

"No." Although he was arguably just as much of a pushover as Makoto when it came to their children, Haruka wouldn't give in to them on this.

"If they sleep with you, then none of you will actually get some sleep," Makoto reasoned, and Haruka was glad they were on the same page, "You can't expect Princess and Duchess to sleep all night like we do."

"I thought cats slept more than dogs," Umiko said in confusion, since that was what Haruka had told her. "And dogs sleep more than us."

"Yes, but cats don't have a bedtime like we do. It's not like we can tell them to go to sleep, they just sleep when they're tired," Makoto explained.

"I don't need a bedtime either," Mizuki claimed, rubbing at his eye with his balled-up fist, "I want to sleep only when I'm tired."

"And you're not tired yet?" Haruka questioned sceptically.

"No."

They would see about that, Haruka thought to himself with a smile. He bet Mizuki wouldn't even make it through the entire story.

"Well, even if you aren't tired, you have to go to bed now," Makoto said as he plucked Princess off his lap and got up, giving her a small peck on her back and then he put her down. "It's going to be an early day tomorrow, because unlike the cats, you two have to go to school."

Knowing that it would be no use to argue further, Umiko and Mizuki gave Princess and Duchess each a kiss goodnight. While Umiko began to chatter about what it would be like if cats had to go to school too and how she would have liked to go to one of those hypothetical kitty-schools, Mizuki went over to his father and held out his arms in a request to be picked up.

When Makoto did, Mizuki clung to him instantly, making him smile. He sent an amused look over to Haruka, who nodded in agreement. So much for Mizuki not being tired.

Although Umiko didn't appear to be tired enough to require being carried, Haruka knew she wouldn't want to be left out so he offered to pick her up too. That offer was wholeheartedly accepted.

They carried the children upstairs to the bathroom, where Makoto brushed Mizuki's teeth and Haruka waited for Umiko to finish brushing her own so he could check if she cleaned everything properly afterwards. Once the children had both gone to the toilet and washed their hands, Makoto and Haruka took them to their room and tucked them in.

Makoto sat down at the foot end of Mizuki's bed and Haruka took place across from him on Umiko's bed. Settled in the warm cocoons of blankets and love, Umiko and Mizuki looked up expectantly from their father to their dad.

"So, a story," Makoto started, and despite how sleepy they were, the faces of the children lit up in curiosity at the mention of it, "Is there anything in particular you want to hear about?"

Umiko pursed her lips and hummed in thought as she looked around the room for something to inspire her, but Mizuki, too drowsy to think, only shook his head.

Wanting this story to be a short one, Haruka decided to help them out a little. The theme of what he had in mind just so happened to fit the events of the day, too. "How about our promise?" he suggested to Makoto, who smiled in response.

Interest piqued, Umiko's brown eyes widened in anticipation. "Your promise?"

"Yes," Makoto affirmed, "Do you want to hear about it?"

"Yes!"

"Alright," Makoto chuckled at Umiko's enthusiasm - though Mizuki didn't seem as eager as his sister, Haruka knew that he wished to hear this story just as much.

Though there were many things that were extraordinary about his husband, his imagination wasn't one of them. But to balance it out, he had developed his storytelling abilities, crafted his unique character-voices to perfection over the past three decades, and knew how to convey all of the emotions a story was meant to evoke. Even if this particular story wasn't exactly thrilling, nor did it involve any heroes defeating scary villains, Haruka was certain Makoto would make it sound exciting nonetheless. So he sat back to enjoy his husband's beautiful voice telling the tale that he remembered so vividly.

"It was a beautiful, sunny day in June, almost thirty years ago," Makoto began, reeling the children in with every syllable, "and Daddy and I were playing over at my house. We were lying in the middle of the living room, side by side, with pencils strewn over the floor between us; Daddy drew pictures and I coloured them in."

"What kind of pictures?" Umiko wondered, always ready to question every detail, but Makoto never minded it.

"Of the two of us, playing at the playground, swimming in the pool, going on all kinds of adventures together. It had been raining all week, and though we were happy just playing inside, we really wanted to go outside and play. And then, for the first time in what seemed like forever, the rain suddenly stopped. It felt like a miracle," Makoto recalled with a fond sigh, "We asked Grandma if we could go to the pool or the beach, but she said no, because it was already late in the afternoon and it could start raining again any minute. But, she promised that if it didn't rain the next morning, we could go to the pool then. So Daddy and I decided to go to the playground instead. Because of the rain, everything was covered in tiny raindrops. I didn't mind it, but Daddy really didn't want to get his pants wet."

"I still don't, unless if I'm swimming," Haruka commented with a smile as he thought back on that special night they had shared during their first year of middle school. Makoto smiled at him in reminiscence, thoughts linked as always. It was an unforgettable night that they had both cherished ever since, but that was a story for another time.

"Now that the rain had finally stopped, I desperately wanted to play outside, but not without Daddy, so I had to come up with a solution. While I was thinking, Daddy pulled out a handkerchief; I didn't even know he had one with him! He was about to dry off the seats of the swings so we could sit on them, but then, out of nowhere, there was a weird noise coming from the bushes…"

Completely sucked into the story, Umiko gasped.

"A noise?" Mizuki questioned, and though his face didn't show it, he was just as intrigued as his sister.

"Yes. We were startled by it, so we went to check the bushes, to see what it was-"

"_I_ went to check the bushes," Haruka corrected, "while _you_ hid behind me the whole time because you were scared."

"That's right," Makoto admitted sheepishly, making the children giggle lightly. "Daddy went to check the bushes, and I held on to his shirt very tightly to make sure that whatever creature was creeping in the shadows wouldn't be able to catch him and drag him off into the darkness," he exaggerated, and Haruka just shook his head in amusement. "At that moment, we heard another noise, a loud and bellowing cry. And that's when we saw it: hidden deep within the bushes was… a cat."

"A cat?" the children blurted simultaneously. With that build-up, they weren't sure if they should be relieved or disappointed.

"Yes, the sweetest little calico!"

"What's that?" Umiko asked.

"A calico? That's what white cats that have spots in two different colours are called, usually black and orange," Makoto explained, but then his tone morphed from informant back to story-telling mode. "We were pleasantly surprised that it was a cat, so we crouched down in front of her, holding out our hands. I was afraid that we would scare her off, but she wasn't timid at all and allowed us to pet her. She was so sweet, and she had the cutest little meow, and Daddy and I instantly fell in love with her. We thought she was a stray cat and we wanted to keep her, but because we didn't know for sure, we looked around to see if she had any family. We searched all over the playground and around it, but there was no other cat to be found; Calico was all alone."

Cue in the awws and coos of the children.

After a short pause - that could either have been for Umiko and Mizuki to voice their sympathy or for dramatic effect - Makoto continued, "Daddy and I knew that we couldn't just leave her there. I picked her up, and she was very frail, much lighter than I expected, and that's when we knew for sure that she had no home."

"How big was she?" Mizuki questioned, surprised that his father had been able to lift a cat back then when Princess and Duchess were much too big for him to carry.

"Was she a kitten?"

Haruka shook his head at Umiko's question. "No, she wasn't a kitten, but she was pretty small so I don't think she was very old yet," he clarified, and to put things into perspective he said, "She was smaller than Duchess is now."

"Anyway," Makoto resumed from where he had left off, "Because everyone deserves to have a loving home, Daddy and I decided that we wanted to keep her. So we took her back to my house to ask Grandma if we could, but Grandma immediately began to sneeze when we brought her inside. She explained that she was allergic to cats, and that we couldn't keep Calico or else she would never stop sneezing. I was disappointed because I always wanted to have a cat, but we hadn't asked Daddy's parents so we didn't give up hope just yet. I figured that, if Daddy had a cat, then it would be my cat a little too since I was over at his house all the time anyway. It was my second home."

Although Makoto had never told him with that many words that that was going through his mind back then, Haruka more or less knew that was how he had always felt. Nevertheless, it warmed his heart to hear him say it like this, because Makoto's house was his second home too when he was a child. Now Makoto was his home.

"Grandma Nanase was folding laundry in the living room, and Daddy's grandmother was there too. When we brought Calico in, Grandma Nanase got pretty mad and yelled at us. She said that because Calico was a stray cat, she might be sick or have fleas and Grandma really didn't want an infestation in the house, so no stray cats were allowed inside. Especially not near the clean laundry."

"And at this point, we hadn't even asked her if I could keep Calico yet," Haruka added with a snort.

"Yes," Makoto chuckled, thinking back on how intimidated he felt back then by his mother-in-law's unpredicted reaction, "so you can imagine that I was a bit scared to ask her now. But Daddy wouldn't give up without a fight, and fortunately, Daddy's grandmother stepped in for us. She told Grandma to calm down and take it easy on us, because we were just trying to help the cat. It seemed to work, because Grandma let out a deep breath, and then Daddy promptly announced that he wanted to keep Calico."

"That's when she got mad again."

"She wasn't _mad_," Makoto argued, finding her reaction a bit more nuanced than that. "Well, maybe a little," he gave in with another chuckle, "But she was just very displeased about the situation. She made it very clear that she didn't want to keep Calico, or any other pet for that matter. And then, Daddy got mad."

"She wouldn't even say why we couldn't keep it!" Haruka defended, because even after three decades, he still didn't understand why his mother had reacted the way she did back then. Looking back on it, he knew she simply hadn't wanted a pet because they required 'maintenance' and she wasn't that fond of animals to begin with, but he knew his six-year-old self would have taken any reason over 'because I said so'.

Remembering how frustrated he had felt every time his parents brushed his questions off that way, Haruka had vowed to himself that he would never do that to Umiko and Mizuki. Whatever the circumstances of a particular situation might be, he would try his best to explain his reasoning to the children every time.

"I know," Makoto assured, as he shared that viewpoint entirely, "But your grandmother always had our backs." Then he turned back to the children. "She told us that she also thought the cat deserved a loving home, but because neither of us could keep it, we should bring her to the shelter. There, they could keep Calico safe and warm and take care of her until someone came along who could take her in. Although we were still sad that we couldn't keep the cat, we agreed that this was the best option for her. So we asked Grandpa Nanase to take us to the shelter."

"Grandma wasn't happy that Calico had to sit in our family's car, but she accepted it," Haruka mentioned, envisioning the uncomfortable look on his mother's face when they left. He understood it to some degree, as he wouldn't like to have a disease-ridden, possibly infectious animal in their car either, but as far as he could recall, Calico had practically been as healthy as could be, just a bit malnourished. It wasn't odd though; his mother had always been adamant about keeping everything spick and span. He supposed he got his tidiness from someone, but it wasn't necessarily a bad trait to have. Not with two young kids and a sloppy husband.

Makoto acknowledged his statement with a nod, smile playing at his lips. "So Grandpa Nanase drove us to the shelter, and Daddy and I took turns having Calico on our laps. We got to the shelter pretty quickly, but I wished that it had taken longer so we could have had more time with her. But all good things have to come to an end eventually, so we didn't dawdle and brought her inside."

"Were Hanazawa-san and Tanaka-san there?" Umiko asked, and to her confusion, both of her parents laughed at that.

"Of course not," Haruka muttered with a tiny grin that he wasn't able to suppress, "This was thirty years ago."

"How old do you think Hanazawa-san and Tanaka-san are?" Makoto giggled, bringing his fist up to his mouth to stifle his laughter.

"I don't know… eighty?" Mizuki guessed, only making Haruka and Makoto laugh harder.

"Grandma and Grandpa aren't even that old!"

"Oh."

"Tanaka-san is probably around Papa's and my age, so she was just a child too," Haruka clarified, "And Hanazawa-san is definitely younger than thirty, so she hadn't even been born yet."

"Oh," Mizuki echoed.

"Oh yeah," Umiko mumbled, realising her mistake; while Mizuki might not have understood the concept of ages that well yet, she really should have known better. "Sorry."

"It's alright," Makoto assured with that sweet smile that instantly made flowers bloom, "Hanazawa-san and Tanaka-san weren't there, but the lady that was there was very nice to us. She thanked us for saving Calico and bringing her to them, and she promised that she would make sure that Calico would get adopted by the most loving family. Until then, she and her colleagues would look after her. So we said goodbye to Calico, and although we were sad to see her go, we knew that she was in good hands and that soothed the ache a little."

"Where is she now?"

Mizuki's question caught both of them off-guard. Considering it had been thirty years since they found her, she probably wasn't in this world anymore; though there were some cats who lived over three decades, it was extremely rare and the chances of Calico in particular living that long were practically zero. But they'd never know for sure, and making the children mourn the loss of a cat they didn't even know wasn't exactly convenient, especially not right before they had to go to sleep.

Fortunately, Makoto had an answer ready. "I don't know," he said, "but I'm sure she's at the best place possible for her, with all the love of her family."

"Like Duchess and Princess!" Umiko commented with a huge grin.

"That's right."

"And like us!"

The sincerity of those words took Haruka aback, and he wasn't alone. Makoto's jaw dropped ever so slightly before his whole face softened in adoration. He leaned forward and affectionately tapped his finger on Umiko's cute nose, coaxing soft giggles out of her. "That's right," he repeated, and when Mizuki looked up at him expectantly, he gently poked his little nose too.

"So what's the promise?" Mizuki asked out of the blue.

"Oh, yes," Makoto sighed when he remembered that that was the story they were told they'd get to hear. "When we got home from the shelter, Grandma Nanase told Daddy that he should come inside because dinner was almost ready, but Daddy said that he forgot his handkerchief at the playground earlier and that he had to get it first. I offered to go get it for him instead, but Daddy said that we would go together. Grandma allowed us, but told us to be back as soon as possible. At the playground, I couldn't see the handkerchief anywhere so I began to search for it, but then Daddy suddenly pulled it out of his pocket."

"So you lied?" Umiko uttered, turning to Haruka in disbelief.

"Just that one time," he said, but his husband snorted at that.

"Now _that's_ a lie," Makoto accused, though there was nothing but amusement lacing his melodic voice. Not wanting them to stray from the story to the topic of lies and why they were bad, he quickly continued, "He used his handkerchief to wipe the lingering raindrops from the seats of the swings like he wanted to do before, and then we sat down together. While Daddy tried to hide it, I knew the real reason why he wanted to go back to the playground: he was still upset that Grandma wouldn't let him keep Calico and he needed a moment to process it before he went back home."

"Papa was so sweet," Haruka took over, placing his hand on Makoto's knee with a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Although he was just as upset as I was, he still tried to comfort me. He put his hand on my shoulder and said something along the lines of, 'It's alright, Haru-chan. Let's just get a cat together someday when we're older.' I really liked the idea of that so I agreed. 'Promise?' Papa asked and he held out his pinky."

To demonstrate, Makoto offered Haruka his right pinky like he had done back then, the adoring look never leaving his face. That look hadn't changed since.

"'Promise,' I said." Haruka linked his pinky with Makoto's to seal their promise once again.

"And now, after thirty years, our promise is finally fulfilled," Makoto concluded with affection twinkling in his gorgeous eyes. Then he tore his gaze away from his husband's ocean and faced the children. "I hadn't expected that it would take us this long, but I'm kind of glad that it has. Because now, we can share the experience of our first real cats with you, too."

"I'm really happy too."

Umiko yawned right after finishing her sentence, which proved that this story had actually turned out way longer than they had intended. Haruka didn't mind it though. It was always nice, recalling memories of their childhood together with Umiko and Mizuki, but this story in particular was one that was very dear to him. It told how Makoto and he had been together since the start, how despite all of the years that passed, the core of their relationship had never wavered or diminished. That their love had only grown stronger.

"Me too," Mizuki mumbled. He had exceeded all expectations; though he was fighting a losing battle, he stayed awake long enough to hear the end of the tale.

"Me too," Haruka said, "and now it's time to go to sleep."

For once, the children didn't ask for a reprise and cuddled themselves further into their blankets, showing just how exhausted they truly were. They'd probably be grumpy in the morning and wouldn't want to get out of bed, but those worries were for tomorrow.

Makoto and Haruka left the room as soon as they finished bidding the children goodnight to let them savour every minute of sleep they could get. The glowing star remained lit to guard them till the sun arose once more.

"What do you want?" Makoto asked once the door was closed behind them.

"Tea," Haruka replied, "but I'm going to take a quick shower first."

"Alright, I'll have it done by the time you get downstairs," Makoto said, swooping in to steal a chaste kiss from Haruka's lips. When he pulled back, a warm grin radiated off his face. "Have a nice shower!" With that, he had disappeared.

Haruka smiled to himself in endearment. He was so lucky that he got to be the one who married this adorable idiot. No matter how many years passed, he'd never get enough of this. Never.

* * *

Duchess was seated at the top of the cat tree when Haruka entered the living room, looking out over the vast expanses of her newly acquired realm. After exploring it all day, she was now content to just watch - seemed like the children weren't the only ones who were worn out from playing so much.

Makoto was already on the couch, black frames perched on his nose as he flipped through the various tv channels in search for something interesting. Haruka had been expecting it, but the fact that he was wearing his glasses confirmed that Makoto was tired too. He'd been wearing them more and more often during the evening recently, and if Haruka noticed any more decline in Makoto's eyesight, then he would make him schedule an appointment at the optometrist. Though Haruka absolutely loved his husband's bespectacled face, he wasn't ready to say goodbye to the no-glasses look just yet.

Tea was served as promised, but the small smile adorning Haruka's mouth was instantly wiped off again when he got closer. Lying on Makoto's lap like she owned the entire place was Princess, snuggling herself into Makoto's body as if he was made solely for the purpose of being her pillow. Makoto's free hand was buried deep within her thick fur, like she wasn't comfortable enough already without a massage. It didn't seem like she was planning on moving any time soon and Haruka grimaced.

This wasn't about to happen. That was _his_ spot. Haruka would devote himself to the children and now also to the cats all day, but the evenings were dedicated to spending some quality time with his husband. He would face the devil himself before he'd let himself be replaced by a cat.

"Oh, no no no no," he muttered under his breath as he picked Princess off Makoto's lap, making Makoto look up in bewilderment. Princess meowed in protest, but Haruka wouldn't be persuaded by her royal charm. He cradled her against his chest as he lied down on the couch, placing his head atop of Makoto's thighs before Princess had the chance to reclaim her throne. "This is _my_ spot."

Perhaps he was reading into it too much, but it was almost like Princess let out a solid huff of discontentment before she settled herself on Haruka's torso, accepting her defeat.

The absurdity of the situation made Makoto chuckle merrily. "Uh oh," he giggled, lovingly tangling his fingers in Haruka's silky hair and he ran his blunt nails over Haruka's scalp, "looks like you've got some competition."

Haruka actually scoffed at that. "They're no competition for me."

"Oh no?" Makoto questioned, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

"No," Haruka insisted with a serious look on his face, staring straight into Makoto's beautiful eyes as he stated with utmost confidence, "I'm much cuter than them."

It took a second of undisrupted eye-contact for Makoto to process what he just said. Then boisterous laughter erupted from his chest. "Well, I can't argue that," he agreed with a sweet smile, knowing that Haruka was only joking a little. It was common knowledge that Makoto had a weakness for cats, but the love and adoration he felt for his husband conquered all; those deep, oceanic eyes and those sweet, enticing lips were his greatest weakness.

He craned his neck and leaned down to kiss Haruka, whose eyelids fell shut in anticipation. The expected touch never came, and Haruka opened his eyes again to see what was keeping Makoto from following through with what he started. When he did, he saw Makoto's face hovering over his, having halted halfway through the motion.

"Can't reach," Makoto exhaled with strain colouring his voice, blood rapidly rushing to his head and a breath of amusement escaped through his nose.

He began to pull back from his awkward position, but Haruka wouldn't let himself miss out on a kiss because of something like that. He hooked his arm around Makoto's neck and lifted his head up to follow after Makoto and he captured his lips in the tender kiss he was promised. When he got up and maneuvered himself so that he was sitting on Makoto's lap, Princess slid off his chest and onto his legs. Tired of being jostled around like that, Princess leapt off the couch to find a pillow elsewhere. Preferably one where she could sleep without being disturbed.

Makoto broke the kiss when he noticed her leaving, wanting to call her back, but Haruka silenced him with another kiss, that was deeper and more passionate than the previous one. His train of thought was promptly derailed when Haruka did that, but he didn't mind it. He never could.

Despite his somewhat possessive tendencies, Haruka was more than happy to share Makoto, especially with the children and the cats. But at times like these, Makoto was _his_. When he craved his husband's undivided attention, then he would make sure that he got just that by any means possible, without outside interference. The cats could have him again tomorrow morning.

As always, Makoto easily melted in Haruka's affection and wrapped his arms around him, his hands settling on the curve of Haruka's waist. Haruka's fingers weaved through the soft locks at the back of Makoto's head as their lips gently glided over the other's. This was what Haruka looked forward to all day, and he would wholeheartedly indulge himself in Makoto's touch and taste.

Only when Makoto let out a low hum of pleasure did Haruka end their kiss. His hunger for his husband hadn't nearly been satiated yet, but desire was a two-way street and he wasn't about to cross it by himself; he needed Makoto to meet him halfway.

To his dismay, Haruka didn't find the uncontainable yearning he was expecting on Makoto's face. Instead, a smug grin stretched his cheeks and a knowing look stared back at Haruka, making him avert his head as he gnawed on his lip.

"What are you smirking about?"

"Nothing," Makoto replied innocently, but Haruka wasn't born yesterday and wouldn't buy into that obvious lie. So Makoto decided to cover it up with the truth, "I'm just really happy, that our promise is finally fulfilled," he said, and the playfulness that had clouded his eyes dissipated with the sincerity of those words, "that our family is finally complete."

Haruka would be lying himself if he claimed that he wasn't overjoyed as well, but Makoto wouldn't get away with it that easily. So Haruka decided to tease him back a little. "Is it though?" he challenged, voice full of feigned doubt.

It was a success; Makoto's eyes widened, trying to read what Haruka had meant on his face. Then he furrowed his eyebrows in a mixture of confusion and concern and his jaw dropped in astonishment. When Haruka cocked his head in question, Makoto let out a deep breath and chuckled, "For a second I thought you wanted to have another child."

"Oh God no," Haruka instantly refuted, shuddering at the mere thought of it, "I've got my hands full with just those two monsters, thank you." When Makoto's smile widened, he couldn't help but add, "And with you, the biggest monster of them all."

"Oh come on," Makoto laughed as he nudged Haruka's nose with his, "Just admit that you love us."

"More than I can stand," Haruka said through gritted teeth, for he would never deny a truth so obvious. The flirtatious nuzzle of Makoto's nose against his shattered every barrier and a smile broke through his demeanour. He couldn't have stopped himself from nuzzling back even if he had wanted to. A small peck naturally followed. Still, he didn't want to lose himself in Makoto's affection just yet, not when he hadn't made his point. "I was talking about the cats."

"Yes," Makoto mumbled, his lips curling into a mischievous grin, "Three is enough."

There it was. That was what Makoto had been smirking about: he was thinking to himself that Haruka was just like a cat, marking his territory and scaring off all other animals that dared to cross it. In the end, it always came back to those cat jokes. But this time, he wouldn't take the bait. That would only entertain Makoto more.

"Are you absolutely sure about that?" he asked, "So if there is ever a stray cat in our yard, you won't want to take it in no matter how cute and helpless it is?"

"Well…" Makoto awkwardly looked away, scratching at his cheek with his index finger, "I can't promise anything."

Haruka snorted at that reaction, choosing to regard this as his victory.

"For now, our family is complete," Makoto adjusted his statement, "But, if so required, there is always room for growth in the future."

"Ah, I see," Haruka nodded, trying to suppress a smile of fondness, "So what you're saying is that by the time we're retired, we'll have at least a dozen cats."

"No comment."

At last, the smile broke through Haruka's demeanour. Although it wasn't exactly his plan for their family to expand any more, he'd be fooling himself if he thought that he would object to more feline friends joining them over the years. They had more than enough love to give to any cat that was willing to receive it.

"But first, let's just enjoy our first two," Makoto continued, turning his head to look over at the cat tree in the corner of the room.

Duchess was still at the highest platform, keeping a close eye on everything that happened in the kingdom she now called home. Princess had crawled into the hammock that hung between two of the pillars, cozy and sleeping soundly even without the touch of one of her servants, eyes squeezed shut in tranquility.

Wanting to follow her example, Haruka pressed a final kiss against Makoto's lips - at least for now - before he buried the side of his face in Makoto's neck, cuddling himself into his husband's body. Makoto wound his arms around him again in a tight embrace, planting a tiny kiss upon Haruka's head to express his adoration. Then he rested his cheek on top of Haruka's hair as they watched their cats together, with serenity enveloping them and peace rooted in their hearts.

Haruka would get back at Makoto for all of his cat remarks later - and he already had the perfect revenge in mind. But for now, he would just play his part and allow unconditional love to engulf him from within: love for the cats, love for the children, love for his husband.

Love for his family.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! If you did, then I'd love to hear it!**

**Writing this fic, though hard at times, was a lot of fun so I want to thank you all for going on this little journey with me. I hope reading it brought you even a fraction of the joy that writing it gave me.**

**Thank you again, Kelly, for everything that you do, not just for me as a friend but also for the fandom. I hope you liked this little fic, and I can't wait to see all the content you'll produce from here on out! ^^**

**As always, you can find me on Tumblr, Twitter and Curious Cat as DatHeetJoella for more MakoHaru content and writing updates.**

**Thank you so much for reading, I hope to see you again at a future MakoHaru fic, and for now I wish you all a wonderful day! 3**


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